Genie of the Lamp
by Kentauros
Summary: While in Iran surveying for a new tracking station, Tony is taken by a less than nice djinni, one that is more powerful than Jeannie. Roger must come to the rescue of both of his friends.
1. Chapter 1

I wish to dedicate the completion and revision of this story to the one fan and friend that had inspired me to keep writing on the idea so many years ago. We all knew her in the IDoJ community as "Carpet" and some of us had the fortune to know her as Carrie. She is still missed though I don't doubt she is 'around' to enjoy this story all over again.

I am also dedicating this story to the one woman I love, Maryanne, whom inspired me to complete the story (once she had read the old version) and has kept me going to get it out of my head and into the world for all to enjoy. Here's to your enjoyment! :-)

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of IDoJ they belong to their creators. This story is written purely for entertainment and not for profitable purposes. I do, however, own all original characters and the plot. If you would like to use the characters I have created, please ask first.

...

Genie of the Lamp

By

Eric Franklin

Chapter One

"You will be staying on the second floor in rooms 17 and 18," the short swarthy clerk informed the threesome. "Enjoy your stay in Tehran."

"Thank you." Tony took the keys, one of the suitcases and the two metal cases of the surveying mechanisms. Roger got the tripod and collapsible leveling rod while Jeannie got the other two suitcases. Tony knew how heavy they were yet he had seen her lift crates and furniture almost like Superman. He never knew if she was using her powers to do that or if all djinn were simply superhuman in strength.

Their hotel was tiny by modern American standards, though to the casual observer, it was definitely well kept and clean. It was a standard travelers' hotel since NASA wouldn't splurge on business trips. They made their way across the old, cracking sandstones of the sparse courtyard and up a rather creaky set of wooden stairs. They landed on a narrow and dimly lit cedar-floored and paneled hallway between their rooms, white plaster arching overhead by at least ten feet if not more. Roger took his room-key to let himself in, while Tony and Jeannie went into room number 17, on the inner courtyard side.

"Ah, it's good to relax! Those military transport planes are not that comfortable. But, they are free," Tony commented and tossed his jacket and suitcase on the one queen-sized bed, messing up the orange bedspread and knocking the embroidered brown throw pillows almost off to either side. A thick Persian rug covering most of the floor in and around their bed deadened his footfalls as he dropped into an ample, well-upholstered armchair in matching bright orange. Chair and astronaut were in a corner near the carved cedar-shuttered window, and in enough shadow that Tony could close his eyes to block out the rest of the light. The whole of the room received a sufficient amount of light filtered through shutters and gathered peach-colored window silks, to keep the mostly white plaster-walled room bright to read by. Jeannie had given it all a good glance over upon entering and felt that it could have used with a little magical restoration. Perhaps she would do just that, she thought as she put her suitcase next to his. She happily sat in her Master's lap and snuggled close. An overhead fan high above kept a slight breeze going in the room as the morning temperatures were still cool enough to take in the outside air. There wasn't much scent to the air other than the barest of a musty smell from the furniture. That was easily taken care of if only for a later time in their day, like when the rest of the room was improved.

Upon Jeannie settling down in his lap, Tony opened his eyes to see the cracked beige plaster on the high-arched ceiling above. He needed only to tilt his eyes down a hair to see a much nicer visage.

"Well, I did offer to blink us here, Master. It would have been much faster, less trouble and no jet lag."

"I know, Jeannie, but it was safer to fly. Now we don't have to worry about Dr. Bellows asking questions." A knock at their door interrupted them.

"Hey, Tone! Can I come in?" Roger's muffled voice came through the stout wooden door. It may have been native cedar, like every other wood in the room, but it had either been stained or weathered such that one would have to carve into it to tell. Jeannie hardly noticed, but anyone else might have spent long minutes gazing at the intricate carvings engraved on their side of that door. It was no wonder Roger's voice could barely be heard through it. The arched opening and door together looked much like something Jeannie would blink up with nary a thought in creating it.

"Sure, Rog, come on in." Tony's partner and best friend stepped in, crossing the room to sit in the only other chair opposite them.

"So, what's the plan?"

"The plan is that we are going to relax for about an hour and then head out to the East, to the future tracking site," Tony explained, knowing full well that Roger had some other 'plan' in mind.

"Well, I'm not going to waste my hour just laying around. Jeannie, where are the really hot spots around here? I'd love to find me some nice little harem girl to take home, heh-heh!"

"Roger! You can go girl-shopping later. We have the whole week. And it probably won't take us more than four days to get this done."

"Yeah, well, all work and no play makes Roger a very dull and bored boy! If you won't help, I'll just go and see what passes for a bar in these parts," he replied and got up.

"Master? May I at least tell Major Healey the best inns he can try?"

"Alright Jeannie. But no more than that. I'm going to take a nap for the next hour, but I want to leave here no later than 9:30. I don't want to be out in the sun longer than necessary. You remember what Furnace Canyon was like in Nevada."

"Yeah, but we have Jeannie with us again. And I know all about her this time around. We could have little rain showers follow us the whole way."

"Just go on, Roger. We can talk about this later. Don't be gone long with him, Jeannie."

"I will not, Master," Jeannie replied as she gave her Master a peck on the lips. She was at the door in a moment with Roger, waving bye to Tony. Jeannie pulled the heavy door shut behind them and they were gone. Tony got up from the chair, moved the suitcases to the equally heavy wooden bureau, and laid down for a nice nap. He was glad that Jeannie pretty well obeyed him since their marriage and did not get him into as much trouble anymore with her powers. Thinking that, Tony drifted off into a restful sleep and dreamt of djinn and palace-life.

"Where would you like to go first, Major Healey?" Jeannie and Roger were in the general neighborhood of the hotel, casually walking the streets, looking around as they went.

"Wherever the best inn in town is." Roger laughed at the little joke, but Jeannie didn't get it. Cutting his chortle short, he rephrased the answer.

"Wherever they have the best belly dancers and slave girls."

"Very well, Major Healey, but this city has changed much since I was last here," she explained as they walked. She recognized nothing.

"When was the last time you were here?"

"2000 years ago."

"Ask a silly question..." Roger mumbled. "Well, why not just blink us to the best place? If you can't just point me in the right direction, I'll just have to explore on my own. And that will take longer than that little hour Tony has given me."

"I do not know, Major Healey. I do not think my Master would approve of that."

"Look, Jeannie, how's he to know? All you are going to do is pop us out of here and into the best place in town for girls. That's all. No more magic needed. I can do the rest without your help, heh-heh."

"Well, when you put it that way, I suppose there is no harm," Jeannie replied, folding her arms up before her as they stopped in front of some random residence along the road. As she nodded and blinked the two of them into nothingness, Jeannie's nonchalant display of magic was observed. A very shocked woman had happened to look out of her window at just the right moment. It was enough of a shock as to make her fall out of her wicker chair and start praying to Allah for protection.

An old and weathered sign hung over a wide-arched entrance read (in Persian) 'The Blind Parrot'. At least that was what Jeannie translated to Roger once they appeared outside the walls of that particular tavern.

"Wow! Thanks, Jeannie! This place looks great!" he said, looking in past the louvered doors to the current belly dancers performing for the crowd. Slavegirls could be seen delivering foods and drink to the men all seated around and on various piles of Persian carpets about the place. It was certainly the next closest thing to paradise in Roger's eyes. He was stepping inside when Jeannie tugged on his sleeve.

"I will meet you out here in one hour, Major Healey. Do not be late!"

"Me? Late? You're talking to Casanova Healey! I'll have a girl on each arm in five minutes," he boasted. Jeannie just smirked at him and blinked out. Roger jumped a bit, though his task at hand calmed him in seconds. And true to his word, in just under five minutes Roger was relaxing on luxurious Persian carpets with a slavegirl on each arm as he ogled the belly dancers. He hardly noticed how fast the time flew by he was having so much fun.

Once back at the hotel, Jeannie blinked their clothes into the drawers of the bureau, and hung the rest in the nearby closet. That same blink also made the suitcases vanish into nothing. She rounded the edge of the bed to the side opposite her beloved Master, and blinked at the top of the small bedside table. An instant later, a large shiny brass hourglass appeared. The hour markings were different than any other hourglass Jeannie had owned or used. It was more apparent what they meant when Jeannie blinked again, and two of the hour markings glowed, one green and one red. The sands began flowing through the hourglass as soon as the markings glowed. A satisfied djinni just smiled to herself and laid down next to her handsome Anthony for a one-hour nap. Djinni and astronaut snuggled close and the djinni was asleep with her Master in mere moments.

...


	2. Chapter 2

. . .

Chapter Two

One hour later on the dot, Jeannie's eyes opened, her magical silent-alarm hourglass working perfectly. She rolled over, that slight movement making Tony moan in his sleep and mumble something about her not going. Jeannie just smiled and blinked the hourglass-alarm off before she sat up to stretch. Quietly getting up, Jeannie checked her hair and clothes in the mirror, finding that they only needed minor adjustments. She would take care of that en route, she thought and blinked out.

Jeannie reappeared outside the tavern unnoticed, and saw that Roger was nowhere in sight. With a frown, she peered into the tavern, but it was too dark at that moment compared to the very bright sun outside. She also felt she was not exactly dressed right for that establishment. Looking around quickly, she spied an alley nearby. Discovering it empty, one magical blink rang out and Jeannie walked up to the inn heavily draped in a dark red hooded cloak, her normal pink harem outfit and djinni-hairstyle sufficiently hidden underneath.

She felt so much more at ease in her old clothes and knew that most of the locals around her would not take as much notice as they did when she was in her American clothing. All the better, she thought, and started to scan the interior for Major Healey. She spotted Roger soon enough, a bevy of slavegirls surrounding him while he relished in their attentions. However, that attentiveness had also riled the men those beauties had been serving. Roger was about to see and feel exactly how angered he had made them.

"Enough, infidel! You do not belong here with our women! Get out of here before I throw you out!" an exceptionally heavy and muscular-type bellowed out. Ever the coward, Roger tried to slink away only to be caught with next to no effort. The strong hands of that colossus of a man then gathered up fistfuls of Roger's clothing. In one smooth motion he had Roger off the floor, held by the lapels of his uniform as he was shaken like a martini.

Jeannie acted fast. One blink later, Roger was gone and Jeannie could sigh her relief. The man was thunderstruck at the disappearance of his victim, but Jeannie knew he would get over it. For the moment, she had to return to the hotel and bring Roger back into being. One man sat nearby on carpets and cushions as he smoked a large hookah. He dumbly shook his head at the impossible sight the cloaked woman made when she disappeared into nothing. He knew it had to be whatever he was smoking, and tossed it aside in disgust, hoping he would regain his true senses before the morning was done.

Back at hers and Anthony's hotel room, Jeannie reappeared, her clothing restored to American style, her djinni-hairstyle let out in waves of blonde locks over her shoulders. She folded her arms and gave a quick nod with her blink, instantly bringing Roger back into being from where she had stashed him in Limbo. Roger stood stunned for a few seconds from that experience, and then shook himself as he recovered. He then released his frustration with Jeannie's interference.

"What'd you go and do that for? I was just about to let him have it with a right jab! That would have knocked him flat," Roger exclaimed, trying to pull his uniform back into shape.

"You were about to get your back broken in two, Major Healey! He was twice your size and strength. You should not have taken his slavegirl without asking," Jeannie admonished. All this carrying on had awakened Tony and he groggily tried to take in the situation and events.

"Yeah, well I wouldn't have gotten any slavegirls if I had taken that tactic. I think you owe me a slavegirl or two for taking me out of there so soon."

"She owes you nothing, Roger," Tony said, getting up and approaching. He looked around for the suitcases at the same time, but found them missing. "It's almost 9:30 and we need to get ready for our trip out in the desert. Jeannie, where did you put the suitcases?"

"Oh, I got rid of them. I put all of your clothes away in the bureau and the closet. Would you like me to change your clothes for you?" she asked, ready to blink. Tony just pushed her arms back down as he shook his head 'no'.

"I'll do it myself, Jeannie. And you go and change, too, Rog. I'll meet you out in the courtyard in ten minutes."

"Well, a fine friend you turned out to be," Roger replied as he left. He was heard mumbling about losing a harem of slavegirls thanks to his friend's only desire for work, work, work. Jeannie just shrugged it off, and pondered what to blink up for herself to wear.

. . .

Roger managed to meet them in the courtyard on time, and they all walked to where Tony had parked their Jeep. Jeannie had clothed herself in the same military khakis as her Master with Roger dressed similarly. Both men wore wide-brimmed hats to keep the sun off their necks while Jeannie had on a khaki scarf, very much like her normal veil. They were on their way in no time, talking little other than to check the maps and make sure they were on the right course. As their trip lasted over an hour and a half, Jeannie provided sandwiches to all. Soon enough, the three of them arrived at the area for NASA's future Tracking and Data Relay site. The normal roads didn't go where Tony and Roger needed to be, so they had to drive off-road some distance. They ended up removed from most signs of civilization, other than the occasional jet-contrail overhead.

Jeannie tried to help in her way as Tony and Roger struggled with getting their surveying gear out of the Jeep. Soon enough, everything was floating, grouped according to what type of gear. The suddenness of her magical help was cause to make Roger flustered and befuddled, though he recovered quickly.

"Jeannie, please. Stop levitating our equipment. We can carry it on our own." With a sigh, Jeannie blinked everything back into the Jeep. She awaited any further requests for help, her hands clasped behind her.

"You would refuse help like that, Tony. Sometimes I really wonder about you." Jeannie nodded hard in agreement, but Tony was firm.

"Roger, you've carried equipment heavier than this. And we really need to get started now, so you take the North area like we agreed, and Jeannie and I will hike over here to the South."

"Okay, Tony." Roger resigned himself to the fact that his friend just did not understand how to take advantage of his djinni's powers for even the simplest things. He wondered how someone with such limited imagination ever managed to get picked to be an astronaut. Now, if it had been him, he mused and continued those thoughts of putting the full potential of a real, live djinni to task as he hiked off to the North.

By noon, Jeannie was bored almost senseless. She had provided both her Master and Roger with as much extra water as they could carry, or so they thought. She did not tell her Master that his canteen and Roger's would never be anything less than almost full and always filled with the most pure and cold spring water. She had blinked back and forth between the two, trying to keep occupied by helping them as much as she could, but her adorable Master continued to refuse any help other than for the water and a few more sandwiches. As soon as both had their blinked up lunches, she asked her Master if she could go back to the city.

"Sure, Jeannie, do whatever you want," Tony agreed. He knew that Jeannie probably was very bored with all of this surveying work, but he loved that kind of task. Well, other than the heat, of course, but he'd been through worse.

"I may do some shopping while I am back there, Master. Just passing by I saw how lovely the markets are here."

"Alright, Jeannie. Just don't get lost."

"Oh, I will not, Master," she playfully admonished him, then tip-toed up to give him a kiss. They held it for a moment, their eyes meeting for a moment more.

"I love you, Master."

"I love you, too, Jeannie."

Hearing those words from her Master and witnessing that so very gorgeous smile on his oh-so-handsome face sent shivers of pure delight up and down Jeannie's spine. If she wanted to, she could have let her magic literally melt her into a puddle of bliss, just like that saying modern humans had about such a thing. She recovered seconds later and blinked out with the visage of her Master's smiling face gazing at her with all his love. She was the luckiest djinni in the world, she thought, just as she reappeared in their hotel room. She was back in her pink harem clothes and cloak in a blink, and gone in another blink for an afternoon of Persian shopping.

. . .

With Jeannie gone, Tony found that he and Roger made great headway in getting this site surveyed for NASA. It was not until the middle of the afternoon heat that he realized Jeannie's magic on his canteen. He knew he had slurped down far more water than that little canteen could hold, yet, there it was, still almost full. He couldn't help but feel thankful for her doing that. Otherwise, they would have had a long, thirsty trek and drive back to town. Sometimes, she did some good with her magic. It was a rare occasion when she was able to get away with it and not get him into some kind of trouble with Dr. Bellows.

"I guess she really can't get into trouble when she's in her homeland. People here don't seem as fazed by real magic. I'm _so_ glad, too! The last thing I need is to have to explain some magical occurrence to Dr. Bellows when it doesn't even happen in his presence. All right, enough of that thinking! Back to work," he said under his breath and trekked off to set up his surveying equipment further along. He and Roger kept in touch the whole time by walkie-talkie, and were able to circumvent about a quarter of the site by the late afternoon. Then the long hike back to the Jeep began in earnest.

. . .

Jeannie had found one little shop that sold, among other things Persian, carpets and Aladdin lamps. As a djinni, she could tell with but a touch if any of the lamps had ever held a djinni, or still did. None did so, but she discovered one that once held a very powerful djinni, although the essence of the leftover magics revealed one she never knew or had heard of. She could not tell if it was a djinn (male djinni) or a djinni like herself, though she could find out with a bit of her magic. Curiosity got the better of her as she blinked one of those powers she did not get to use very often nor had it ever been commanded of her: she stopped Time.

The silence that followed would have been eerie if she were not a magical creature, so it did not faze her in the least. Instead, she took advantage of the calm and smoked inside that magic lamp. She was all the way in and changed back into a woman in but five seconds. She found herself inside a furnished lamp full of pillows and silks hung from all the walls, the two oil lamps at each end still burning with their magic flames. The main color inside seemed to be lavender, tipping her off to the previous djinni's gender immediately.

"I wonder what ever became of her?" Jeannie mused aloud. She looked around the interior closely; she moved pillows and cushions aside carefully, but could find no evidence of a journal or other scrolls. There was a small amount of dust: a very light layer one could hardly see. Such a slight amount kept minimal thanks to the infusion of magic that preserved the interior. She could tell that magic was fading, thus the dust. Jeannie thought she might just buy the lamp and find out from Mama or Hadji who it belonged to before. She would like to know so she could visit her and see if she would like her old lamp returned to her. She would certainly ask first, though. It could have held too many bad memories for the other djinni to want it ever again. Jeannie mused that she would have blinked it out permanently if she had been in the same position. With that, Jeannie smoked herself out of the old magic lamp.

Once full size and solid again, she blinked Time going, and picked up the lamp to see about purchasing it.

. . .


	3. Chapter 3

Genie

. . .

Chapter Three

Roger could see Tony angling over to the Jeep, pacing him. He waved, but it looked like Tony's hands were too full to respond. He was glad the day was over with. Tired as he was, he still wouldn't have minded Jeannie blinking them back to that little inn to see if he could have a chance again with that bevy of beauties. The muscle-bound guys were probably partying elsewhere anyway, so he should be able to waltz right in and take his pick all over again. He was rubbing his hands together in anticipation, his mind no longer anywhere near the heat and sand and desert.

Tony, on the other hand, was also lost in thought; if only about his upcoming flights and whether their surveying mission would set things back in his training schedule. Indeed, he was so involved in his thoughts, that he did not notice the shiny metal bulge in the sand and promptly tripped on it. Looking back to what had caused him to stumble, he saw the brass-colored object still half-buried in the sand. Standing over it and looking closer, Tony saw the partial circle of what may have been the handle, sticking up from the sand. He dropped the tripod a few feet to the right of the object and dug away some of the sand. The act of doing that brushed the sides of the metal a bit, although he didn't think of any consequences that could come of that innocent touch.

His shock was very apparent as he discovered that it looked just like one of those Aladdin lamps that the Djinn were _supposed_ to live in, not the glass bottles like his djinni and her family. And as he had not noticed that he had already brushed the sides of the lamp just moments before, he figured he was 'safe' from any magical being that could issue itself forth were he to pick it up by the body. Instead, he lifted it by the handle to pull it from the sand and even shook it a bit to dislodge the few grains still clinging here and there. With it out in the air and light, Tony was finally able to see he was right about the kind of lamp it was, in every definitive sense for such an object.

Tony hardly had his free hand up underneath the base to support it when mixed pink and white luminous smoke began to issue forth. It was coming out with a force far greater than Jeannie's did when Tony had released her so many years ago. Of course, he was shocked that he was releasing yet another djinni, but not as shocked as he was about to be.

Meanwhile, Roger's thoughts of girls, girls, girls were interrupted as he heard a high-pitched whistling, like that of some kind of gas through a tight opening. He glimpsed the source as pink and white smoke swirling up to take on the form of a very curvaceous figure. Tony stood before that rapidly coalescing figure as it came into being, if only from the waist up. If Roger's jaw could have fallen off like they do in the cartoons, his would have been rolling in the sand by then. That Tony! He got all the luck! thought Roger. Yet, he had enough of his wits about him such that in no time at all he'd dropped everything to the ground and took off in a dead run right at Tony and that djinni.

Tony watched as the smoke dissipated from the waist up on a woman that could very well have been more beautiful than even his Jeannie. He had never seen such beauty on any woman in his whole life, even with all the girls Jeannie had ever blinked up for him or Roger. Her almost angelic visage was quite literally stunning to his senses. She did not look like any of the Djinn he had ever had the fortune or misfortune to meet either. This one had her light-brown hair loose without the 'normal' braids and ponytail, falling down her back and shoulders in wavy ringlets. He couldn't really tell, but her hair seemed to disappear into the smoke surrounding her hips as well as where it framed the rest of her solid body.

Blue eyes that shone with an inner light more brilliant than sapphires, and harem clothes to match. The styling of her outfit was far different than Jeannie's or any other djinni or harem girl he had ever seen. This one seemed to want to reveal as much of herself as possible, yet still be 'tastefully' clothed. She radiated sex-appeal, even with her bare arms crossed lightly over her stomach. If only he wasn't married... No! he thought, squashing the very idea of that. Jeannie was the love of his life and as beautiful as this --creature-- before him. The very idea that he could think of having this djinni instead of the one he had married was enough to snap him out of his stupor.

"Okay, I know, I know. You're very grateful for me releasing you and you will grant all of my wishes from now on. But, I don't want any wishes. I have a djinni of my own, and she is more than enough for me. Now why don't you just smoke yourself back into your lamp and live out your days serving some other person?" Tony was not surprised when she only cocked her head to the side slightly, looking puzzled. At the same time, Roger's shouts interrupted.

"Tony! Tony! Wait for me!" Roger was still a good hundred feet away, but it was enough for the djinni to perceive him as a threat. Tony noticed out of the corner of his eyes a slight flash of sky-blue and then the running figure of Roger was a stock-still statue of a very rough-looking stone. Or was that salt, he thought, by the unrefined color of it. He was somewhat reminded of past offers from Jeannie offering to do the very same kind of thing to people. Either way, he did not care which as his anger burst forth.

"Now you change him back this instant! Roger's my best friend and I will not have you or any other djinni changing him or _anyone _into salt or stone or whatever. You change him back now!" She just looked at her new Master, still puzzled by his unfamiliar words. She could tell he was not happy with her, though that was no matter. First, she must give him the power of her language.

Tony had no time to react as her hand shot out to touch his forehead with her index finger. Even with all the magic he had experienced over the years, he still could not sense it the way any djinni of even a few years could. Tony had no idea that the next words out of his mouth were all in ancient Persian.

"What was that for? Well? Are you going to change him back or do I have to call my djinni to make you?"

"I do not think so, Master. He will be all right. Just let me take us out of this sand first. All Masters should have their own palace to protect them from the desert," she stated, her eyes glowing bright sapphire blue just before she blinked and created a lavish Persian palace all around her and her new semi-Master. He was more properly dressed in the robes of a sultan, lounging as he should, there in the main hall. She continued to float halfway smoked out of her lamp, the latter floating in the air where Tony had been holding it. She patiently awaited the next 'command' of this 'Master'.

"That does it!" Tony shouted as he got to his feet.

"Jeannie! Jeannie!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, the floating djinni simply smiling at his attempts to call another djinni to him. Tony even put both hands to his temples in an attempt to get to her by telepathy, still shouting her name. The djinni just patiently waited for him to give up, though that did take him more than ten minutes. He had to collapse to the pillows, out of breath, his voice cracking.

"It will do you no good to call on her, 'Master'. The link between you and she was broken as soon as you released me. I am now all yours," she said, and smoked herself all the way out of her lamp, to materialize on top of Tony, straddling his hips with those sapphire-tinted pantaloons matching the rest of her harem outfit. It was as diaphanous as the rest, leaving almost nothing to the imagination yet somehow being more titillating than Jeannie's. Her long hair remained loose and flowed around her sides, framing her yet again, if only in light brown.

This surprisingly European-looking djinni rested her hands and her weight on his shoulders, and Tony realized he couldn't get up. She did not look that heavy, but it was as if ten people were standing where her hands rested. He understood that she was using her magic to hold him down, since Jeannie had done similar things to him in the past. His resolve increased with that and he knew he had to get out of his current predicament somehow. He hoped with all his heart that Jeannie would hear his thoughts soon and blink herself here. His Jeannie was as powerful as any djinni he had ever seen, so it should not be a problem for her to take care of this one. He just may have to suffer the 'advances' of this particular djinni until then.

"Now, you just relax here and enjoy everything I can give you." Genie made her magic work once more without blinking, with that same sapphire-blue flash of visible magic from her eyes. In another instant, she and her 'Master' were lounging on the pillows, side-by-side, trays and trays of treats and other delicacies floating nearby while slavegirls fanned the heat away. More such female slaves waited in several lines leading up to the new couple with even more trays of food. Genie turned onto her side, letting the natural curve of her body really show itself off to him as she floated little bites of food to his lips. Her magic kept him mindless of the fact that he ever was Master of some lesser djinni.

. . .

Back at the hotel, Jeannie popped in for the last of several times, having found all manner of lovely new harem-clothes and the fabrics for making them, three Persian rugs in almost perfect condition, and the nicest pigeonhole scroll-case she had ever seen. She was sure she could convert it into a bookshelf her Anthony would be proud to own. She only wished she had not been forced into blinking out right in front of that shop-owner with it. However, she had seen no other way of getting it back to the hotel. She would just have to be careful not to go into his shop as her normal self again. He had so many wonderful pieces of furniture, she was sure her Master would not mind her changing into another woman just to avoid suspicion by the owner. She would send the scroll-case home by blink once Anthony had seen it. She just knew he would be most pleased with her surprise!

A quick glance at the table where her hourglass used to sit reminded her that she had blinked it out. She blinked it back, noted the time of day, and promptly blinked out to find her Master, still out working in that hot desert, no doubt.

. . .

The desert was hot all right but not as hot as it was with the Iranian military and what passed for the local news media. When that huge palace appeared out of nowhere, it didn't go unnoticed for very long. Magic was not as commonplace there as it still was in Baghdad. A palace appearing out of nothing and one that was not a mirage was not only big news, but a threat to 'national security'. The Iranian government had no idea what to do about it, but securing the area with troops was the next best thing. Allowing the state's news media to record it and give it an official 'spin' was also underway so as to prevent even their 'allies' from becoming suspicious of anything unusual.

As it happened, Jeannie, minus her cloak that time around, popped right into the middle of it all. She had appeared near the cordoned-off area that surrounded the salt-statue of Roger. Jeannie was agape by the presence of a palace larger than she had ever seen any of the Djinn create. The humans with all of their military equipment paled in scale to the sheer magnificence of the structure. It was only when she turned to the left that she spied the figure of Roger.

"Major Healey!" she shouted and rushed over to him. She made sure it really was him. She was so shocked that anyone would change him into a pillar of salt that she did not even bother to check to see if she was observed or not. She just nodded hard with her blink, and changed Roger the statue back into Roger the human.

"Oh, thank you, Jeannie! I had completely forgotten what it was like to not be alive. And I don't ever want that to happen again!"

"Oh, you are welcome, Major Healey. But, where is my Master? And where did that palace come from?" She threw an arm wide to encompass only a portion of the wide expanse of the newly blinked-up structure.

"Oh, Jeannie! You've got to help him! Another djinni from a lamp changed me into… well, whatever she changed me into and—"

Upon the mention that the other of the Djinn was female, Jeannie's jealousy boiled to the surface and the two of them were blinked out. Unknown to either of them, someone recorded Jeannie's appearance out of thin air. The palace, and what the military was there to do about it, was being filmed for later analysis. The cameraman knew something unusual was going on, especially since the young blonde seemed to be dressed in harem clothes, not to mention having the classic storybook ponytail of any respectable member of the Djinn. Interest piqued, he moved over to get a closer look, and got to watch dumbfounded as she nodded her head at the statue of the U.S. Military man. Her ponytail bounced up as she snapped her head forward in her magical nod and blink, then it dropped back down just in time for the statue to come to life. He was glad he was trained as a military cameraman in wartime. Otherwise, he would surely have fled in fear.

Instead, he continued to film their exchange, until both vanished with that same nod of her head. He fell to the sand after all and in utter shock at that display of magic, but he protected his camera. What he just filmed would make him famous!

. . .


	4. Chapter 4

. . .

Chapter Four

Jeannie understood the nature of magic, such that it allowed her own energies to zero in on the source of the blinked-up palace. Only one moment later, she and Major Healey appeared in the main hall, and discovered her Anthony taking great pleasure in the affections of the other djinni. Jeannie could not hold herself back at all and instantly vanished from Roger's side to appear at the djinni's head, a handful of hair clutched in each hand and pulled back as magically hard as she knew how.

Jeannie got nowhere fast. Genie's eyes flashed blue and Jeannie transformed into her normal pink smoke. Genie waved a hand at Jeannie's column and directed her into Genie's lamp. Jeannie's smoke vanished from sight in seconds. Roger just gazed on, agape not just at this djinni's beauty but at what she was doing to his friends.

"Well, now, I see your djinni-friend released you from the salt. No matter. You can have her as your djinni now. This one," she motioned her head at Tony, "no longer belongs to her. I am his djinni, and no one can change that." Under her influence, Tony nuzzled his head into her bosom, his face showing the pure bliss she had let him magically experience. Roger could see that Tony's mind was no longer his own. She was not a djinni: she was a devil!

"Now, begone, human! And take that lesser djinni with you!" Genie's eyes flashed blue once more as Roger watched mesmerized. He soon found himself outside the palace yet again, back where he started. The lamp she put Jeannie into was also in his hands. He did not get to act on his intentions to release Jeannie from it as he found several guns pointed in his general direction. Roger jumped so much at realizing the danger Genie had blinked him into the midst of, that his hands rubbed the sides of the lamp with his nervous response. That was all he needed to release Jeannie.

As her pink smoke spewed forth from the neck of the lamp, all but Roger reacted in a normal human fashion. The soldiers, who had thought a handsome reward was theirs for bringing in the invader, dropped their guns in fright and shock and ran. Only one of the five remained to witness as Jeannie reformed her body from the waist up, the rest a puff of pink smoke trailing back into the lamp. She had her arms folded before her in her standard ready-to-blink stance.

"What is your wish, my Master?" Jeannie intoned in a monotone manner.

Roger discovered he was not shocked with Jeannie coming out of the lamp that way, having seen that other djinni come out of it the very same way. Instead, he was more concerned with the lack of free will behind those normally lovely green eyes of hers. Something terrible had happened, and Jeannie was powerless to change it. For once, Roger had no thoughts of greed upon becoming the Master of a djinni. Rather, he had to find some way of getting his two best friends back together, and taking the other djinni off the face of the planet for good.

However, it would likely be best if he and Jeannie were back at the hotel room for some privacy so they could discuss what to do. A wish should do the trick, he thought.

"Uh, Jeannie? I wish you would take us back to the hotel! Then we can figure out what to do about you and Tony."

"Yes, Master!" Jeannie nodded and blinked as normal, instantly transporting them and her lamp to the hotel, leaving a single soldier to faint dead away on the sand.

. . .

"Jeannie! We have to do something to get that djinni away from Tony. Do you have any ideas?" Roger asked and put the lamp down on the bed. Jeannie remained in the same spot before him as her smoke simply stretched the distance back to her lamp. Roger finally noticed that Jeannie's harem clothes and hair had changed in style to match those of Genie's. Her normal red and pink harem colors had not changed.

"Who, Master?" Jeannie looked at her new Master, puzzled at the mention of some other person she felt she had never heard of before. She just kept her arms crossed in case he made a wish of her.

"Tony, your husband! Jeannie, don't you remember him?"

"I am not married, Master. And, I have never known anyone named 'Tony'. Are you sure you are not confusing me with some other djinni?" Jeannie was getting concerned with her Master's mental health. She would have to keep her eye on him for a while. If he kept acting this way, she would have to advise him how to make a wish to be right in the head.

"Oh, man, it's worse than I thought," Roger mumbled under his breath. He placed a hand on his face, slowly pulling it down. The stress of the situation was killing him. He hardly thought about what he was thinking, much less saying aloud, with Jeannie floating nearby. "Man! I wish I had some more of those harem girls to help calm me down."

Jeannie's face lit up with happiness. Now that was a wish befitting a true Master, she thought. "Right away, Master!"

Jeannie nodded and blinked, transforming the hotel room into a modest-size harem apartment, complete with more than a dozen harem girls, and half a dozen slavegirls with fans for the whole bunch. Jeannie rested her arms against her stomach once more, content to have granted this more appropriate wish.

Roger just sighed, allowing himself to be towed by a bevy of scantily clad girls to a nearby pile of pillows. He would relax with them, and _hope_ nothing else happened to his best friends. At least he knew Jeannie was still there. He would take care of the problem of having a harem… later.

. . .

The afternoon became evening, even late evening, and the solitude of the palace was broken.

Genie continued to float little bits of delicacies to her new 'Master' although to her, he was really more of a pet or a slave who could make wishes. That is, when she allowed him to. She was having those thoughts as she gazed upon his very handsome face when some commotion nearby caused her to look over her shoulder towards the main entrance. She spied about half a dozen soldiers barging their way in, and pointing their guns at everyone. Genie welled her magic up from within, her eyes flashed and half a dozen more harem girls were gathered where the soldiers once stood. She was happy to have more lovely girls for her Master to enjoy, she thought as her eyes flashed blue and the girls vanished. She sent them to the main harem room, to be properly prepared by the rest of the harem.

Genie knew that those few intruders were not the only ones. She brought up more of her magic power, directing it through her mind's eye. That allowed her to expand her mind as she took in all rooms of the palace as well as the surrounding grounds. When she found the huge number of military forces all about, her anger boiled dangerously over. At least, it would be dangerous for all that came within her sight and power.

"That is enough!" she bellowed, Tony hardly noticing, other than that the food supply had stopped. Genie ignored him for the moment as her eyes flashed blue, then glowed pink as she nodded a hard blink. Nothing seemed to take place other than the fact that Genie grinned broadly. At the same moment, however, Genie appeared in the courtyard, a djinni-double of herself. She was just a little different though. Especially since her present height was right at 1000 cubits tall!

She bent over to get a better look at their scurrying forms, but she did not let them continue in that fashion. Her eyes flashed blue once more, and all but one turned into camels. All of the military and news equipment vanished into nothing. One human was spared when she had expanded her mind just moments before. Genie had used her magic to understand the technology he wielded as that of a film-camera. She knew that all Djinn did not show up on the 'film' but the humans changing into camels would, like the sight of their equipment vanishing. She smiled a look of pure evil directly at the cameraman before simply disappearing with her normal slight puff of pink smoke.

. . .

Roger had no clue that any of that was taking place. He was still trying to come up with a plan to take care of that other djinni, and rescue his friends at the same time. However, the 'distractions' of the harem girls were enough to keep him from doing any constructive thinking.

At the same time, the city was starting to panic. The cameraman had made it back to the state media station, but he had to ride one of former humans, that is, a camel. No one believed him about that camel being a human at one time, until he showed the raw and unedited developed film to them all. As soon as everyone had viewed it, the state TV station aired the film, again in its uncut format. People quickly became busy packing up what they could, and muffled cries to Allah were to be heard through the louvered windows of the harem room Roger relaxed in. He did not understand the language, so he shrugged it off. Or he would have had the hotel manager not barged through the door, yelling something about leaving the city before they all turned into camels.

"What was that?" Roger asked, getting up. The girls tried to pull him back down, but he needed to see what that guy had to say, if he could say anything. He stood frozen in his tracks, probably due to the sight the room made. Roger was sure it had to do with the fact that Jeannie was floating in smoke. That and how the room they were in a room should not exist much less be the huge size it was. Roger recognized the look, and turned to Jeannie.

"Uh, Jeannie, could you snap him out of it? I need to know what he was yelling about."

"As you wish, Master," Jeannie replied. She faced the stunned man, turning her body in her smoke as if she had spun on a heel. She blinked lightly at him, and he came to immediately. However, it was short-lived.

"What? But...how?" he managed to get out before fainting. Roger had a twinge of sympathy as he remembered his own similar first reaction to Jeannie's magic and smoking out of her bottle so many years ago. Roger had to wipe his hand over his face in frustration.

"Okay, Jeannie, let's try this: I wish...umm, I wish that he was awake and would tell us what he came rushing in here about," Roger said, hoping Jeannie did not take all of his wishes literally and could figure out what he needed to know.

"Yes, Master," she replied, and blinked. The man was standing before them once more, wide awake, and seeming to ignore the fact that Jeannie was only half-there. He started talking to Jeannie immediately, but not in English.

"Wait a minute! What are you talking about! Jeannie's what's he saying?" Roger asked.

"He says that there was news on the TV that a palace appeared out of nowhere, then all the military people that went to investigate were changed into camels by a giant djinni, but the cameraman's film did not show her. He escaped, and now everyone in the city is in a panic to leave. What is a TV, Master?" Jeannie asked, cocking her head to the left, as if she had no memory of living in the modern world for the last five years.

"You'll see soon enough. I think we need one so we can see what's going on," he replied, then waited. Jeannie did nothing and he slapped his forehead. "Oh, right! Jeannie, I wish we had a big TV set in here."

"As you wish, Master." Jeannie blinked her magic through her Master's mind, and produced a large box with glass on the front. It sat where the bureau used to be on the other side of the harem room. However, it was not on. Roger trotted across the thirty feet or so to turn it on, only to find out he couldn't. It had no power plug.

"Uh, Jeannie, this isn't right. I need it on so we can watch the news. Can't you just blink that?" he asked, a little pleading behind his words. The whole thing was just going from horrible to, well, he didn't have a word for what was worse than horrible.

"I will try, Master." Jeannie brought her folded arms up to concentrate and used her power of direct-telepathy to look into her Master's mind. She was able to find just the right memory about that box that he wanted 'on.' Although she zeroed in on the right memories and understandings of the device, she grinned inwardly at her Master's fascination with beautiful women 'cluttering' up the rest of his mind. She would have to reward him with a much larger harem later that night, she mused. Jeanie blinked lightly to send her magic through his definition of a TV set, and the glass glowed with life. She looked on, fascinated with the unusual device. She even smoked her form across the distance to float next to her Master as they both watched.

Roger watched and tried to learn, but it was all in Farsi. Still, he was able to piece together the gist of it just from the pictures. And, it _was_ all a lot worse than just another djinni taking over Tony and wiping Jeannie's mind. They needed a solution now more than ever. And, relaxing with a bevy of beauties was not going to help any.

"Jeannie, as much as I really, _really_ hate to do this, I have to. So, I wish you would change the room back to normal, and make the girls go away. No, wait! Make them appear in my apartment at home," he added, adjusting his wish to something a little more bearable.

"As you wish, Master." Jeannie understood her Master well, and blinked his small harem to his home on another continent. She could mentally see his tiny apartment briefly, to make sure the girls appeared there safely. She glimpsed many things within his tiny abode that puzzled her. Jeannie wondered if he would explain them all to her when they were both home. She understood one thing, though: that cramped apartment of his had to go! Once they were home again, one blink and he could live in luxury again. Although, she might just change his home to that of a proper Master when he was not looking, she thought with an inner giggle.

Roger sighed at seeing them all go. However, the current situation was more important. If he could find some way of getting Jeannie back to normal, maybe she wouldn't remember the girls right away. He wouldn't be able to keep them secret forever, but he would sure try.

"Okay, Jeannie, now him," said Roger, pointing to the manager. Jeannie blinked him out before Roger could say what he was thinking, and that was not it.

"Jeannie? Where did he go?"

"Back to your home, Master. Is that not where you wanted him?" she asked, puzzled.

"No! I mean, no, Jeannie. He has to stay here. I was just thinking aloud. We need to send him back to the front desk," he explained. "And, make him forget he ever saw you. Or the room the way it was before."

"Very well." Jeannie blinked, and returned the man to his place on their side of the world, none the wiser for what just happened there that evening. "Is there anything else you desire, Master?"

"Yes, peace and quiet," he answered with a hand to his forehead, not expecting to get it. He saw as Jeannie blinked, and – nothing. There was something really odd about all the sound up to that point. It was as if it had all just _stopped_. Rushing over to the louvered openings that served as windows in their hotel, Roger threw the shutters aside, and gazed out over a very quiet city. No sound whatsoever, anywhere.

"Jeannie? What did you do?" he asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"I gave you your wish, Master, peace and quiet. Is that not what you wanted?" she replied, not really understanding then why her Master was not pleased with the way she was granting his wishes. She faced him in her smoke, wondering about him.

"Uh and just how did you give that to me, Jeannie?" Roger was getting worried by then. The Jeannie he knew would never have done what he thought she had just done, but he had to know.

"Oh, that. I made them all disappear." Jeannie smiled to him, knowing that all he wanted to know was how she accomplished his wish. She was sure he would be pleased with her explanation.

Roger's face grew pale as he pondered what she had truly done. He managed to croak out a reply of utter shock. "Disappear? All of them?! All of the people in the city?"

"Oh no, Master. Everyone. That is the only way to have peace and quiet. I left the Masters of all the other Djinn alone as I cannot make them vanish." She smiled to him with her hands clasped before her.

"What?! No, no, no, no! Jeannie, you can't do that!"

"But, I just did do that, Master. Are you not pleased?" She was getting worried again. This Master truly did not know how to make up his mind.

"Ohhh, Jeannie, Jeannie," he said, burying his face in his hands, trying not to think of all those beautiful women he had ever known, all just _gone_. "Jeannie, I didn't mean it that way. I just meant let's have some peace and quiet in our room! Not the whole world! I didn't know you could do stuff like that, anyway."

"Oh, yes, Master! I can do anything!" she beamed, smiling again. She folded her arms up before her. "Do you wish me to bring everyone back now?"

"Yes! Yes, I do, Jeannie… I just hope they don't know they've been blinked out. I don't think we could explain that to anyone," Roger answered, worrying about Dr. Bellows finding out.

"Oh, do not fret so, Master. No one will know," she said, and nodded hard with her blink, changing reality back to what it had been before. "It is done."

Roger could hear all the previous noises of a still-panicked city once more outside, and was relieved, or mostly so. It reminded him of what he had intended with his original wish.

"Can you just make it so that we can't hear from in here what's going on out there? And, don't make us deaf!" He was starting to get worried about the wording of his wishes.

"Oh, I would not do something like that, Master," she laughed, and blinked. All sound stopped once more. Roger was still not sure if she only stopped the sounds or not, so he stuck his head out the window. The continued cries of anguish hit his ears, and he was satisfied. Not relieved, but glad they were all still there.

"Much better, Jeannie. You did that perfectly," Roger said, stepping backwards and pulling the blinds closed.

"Thank you, Master. Is there anything else you desire?"

"Yeah, I could use a drink," he muttered, and a golden goblet of crystal clear water appeared in the air before him. Or, it looked like water. Grabbing it and taking a swig confirmed his first impression, but he would rather have had a martini, and said so. He had to shake away the suddenness of the goblet changing shape in his hand, but downing it helped float those anxieties away. He had a few more before he could really relax, and thought it all through. However, the alcohol was preventing him from thinking clearly.

"Man! I wish for once I could drink, relax and still have a perfectly clear head," he muttered, forgetting about all of his wishes being granted that way. As soon as Jeannie's blink restored the clarity of his thoughts, he realized the brilliance of that particular accidental wish. He would have to see if it was permanent or not. He could have a lot of fun with the girls in the future with that kind of ability.

"Wow! Thanks, Jeannie. Now, we need to figure out how to get you and Tony out of this mess. Yeah, yeah, I know, you don't know who Tony is, but he's my best friend, alright? And, I have to help him," Roger explained, cutting Jeannie off just in case she asked again who their Tony was. She remained quiet, awaiting her Master's wishes, and still floating away in her smoke.

"Uh, Jeannie? Can you come all the way out of your lamp? It's really unnerving seeing you like that."

"Certainly, Master!" Jeannie blinked, her smoke gathering itself under her hips to stretch out towards the floor. The moment it touched that solid surface, a whole and solid Jeannie coalesced to stand before him, her hands still clasped in front of her. She gave him a broad smile of perfect white teeth, happy to please her Master so.

"Okay, thanks. Maybe you ought to take a seat. This may take a while," he said, and started to ponder all that he had been through with Tony and Jeannie, anything related to her and her djinni heritage. He lay back on the bed, his legs dangling over, and closed his eyes. His mind was so clear; he did not worry about falling asleep, although his body was certainly tired enough.

Jeannie took her Master at his word, and pulled her legs up under her, to sit Indian-style in the air. She knew it to be far more comfortable than the furniture she could see in their tiny room. Her Master did not look very comfortable on such an inferior mattress either, so, she gave it a light blink. In a magical instant, it changed into a large canopied Arabian bed more appropriate for a handsome Master such as hers. She smiled to herself, relaxing and awaiting any more wishes he had of her.

. . .

"There we are, Master, all done. Why do we not go to bed for some more fun?" Genie suggested to Tony, smiling to him with the face of an angel. He did not know that she was far from being an angel, and could only agree, knowing that he was sure to have quite the fun time in bed with his angelic beauty of a djinni.

"Oh, Genie, I would love that! Show me the way to the bedroom and I will carry you over the threshold."

That reference puzzled Genie, until she glimpsed in his thoughts that it had to do with the marriage customs of his world. She loved the idea of that and agreed with a short flash of her eyes, making them disappear. They reappeared out of a diaphanous puff of her pink smoke directly outside of a pair of double doors that must have been over fifty feet wide each and ten times that in height. Tony tilted his head back in awe at their magnificence, and became very insecure about carrying her over _that_ threshold. Genie sensed his feelings and blinked. The door on the right opened wide for them, revealing the cavernous bedroom beyond. Tony grinned at Genie, and swept her off her feet. He was happy that she was as lightweight as any woman he had ever carried. He stepped lightly with her, Genie's slender arms intertwined with his neck and shoulders.

Tony took his djinni into their love nest as Genie blinked the door instantly shut behind them. She blinked again, teleporting them both into the middle of their new bed, kneeling before one another. Had anyone been able to listen through those massive doors they would have heard much giggling and laughter over the next few hours as the djinni and her Master had fun like no other.

. . .


	5. Chapter 5

. . .

Chapter Five

Roger had no definite idea how long he had laid there when he finally stumbled upon the answer. That is, he hoped it was the answer. He just did not look forward to using the idea. He had gone over every magical experience he had been party to with Jeannie, or her family that he could think of or remember. Only one figure amongst all that stood out as being the most probable to help: Hadji. Roger just had to figure out how they were going to summon him, if Jeannie remembered no one.

"Whoa! Where'd this come from?" he said, seeing for the first time what had become of the hotel bed. He sat up on the edge, looking it over, and spied Jeannie floating on her side in the air, making little smoke trails in it as she lazily played her fingers all about. She looked bored, but perked up in an instant at seeing and hearing her Master up and ready for her. She sat up on nothing but air, the smoke she was playing with forgotten, dissipating into nothingness.

"Do you have a wish for me to grant, Master?" Jeannie asked, folding her arms before her, ready to please.

"As a matter of fact, I do. I wish you would bring another djinni here. His name is Hadji, and I think he'll be able to help me with this problem." Roger knew better by now than to say 'us' since Jeannie saw no problem with the situation as it stood. "Do you need to know anything more about him other than his name?"

"No, Master. You have already provided me with enough to go by. And a male of our kind is called a 'djinn' not a 'djinni' like me," she explained then blinked. Jeannie was not ready for the thunderous earthquake that shook the entire room with Hadji's arrival. She was so alarmed she vanished without a blink.

Hadji, on the other hand, looked as onerous as ever, scowling at Roger and making him cower back onto the bed.

"Who dares to disturb me at this hour?" he bellowed. He recognized the human on the bed as a friend of his favorite djinni, but she was nowhere to be seen. Hadji knew that human could not have summoned him without a prior connection. That only happened when he was magically attentive to a situation that required it, as had happened in that human's past. Something was amiss and he was about to discover what that something was.

"You! Stand before me and answer my question!" he commanded, and ever the coward, Roger did exactly as he was told. Trying to hide from one of the Djinn, especially the Master of all the Djinn, would be the stupidest thing he could do. Venturing into space without his helmet was safer.

"Yes sir, yes sir, right away, sir!" Roger said, scrambling to his feet, rounding the edge of the bed, and barely stopping in time before the shorter Hadji. Roger even saluted him, as if he were a commanding officer. Hadji just looked him over with contempt.

"You see, it all started with Tony releasing this djinni that made him forget he ever saw Jeannie, and then she did the same to Jeannie and she's now my djinni and I wished you here and that's all there is to it, sir," Roger spilled out. Hadji always had a hard time with most of the modern humans anyway, but this one was even worse. He held up a hand as if to say "Halt!" and Roger stopped fidgeting.

"That is enough. Where is Jeannie? I thought I sensed her when I appeared. Where did she get off to?" he asked, looking around now. Jeannie was still vanished, but Roger remembered noticing her disappearance.

"I think she made herself disappear. She doesn't know who you are, either," Roger said, then had just the solution. "Jeannie! Will you come back?"

Roger was still looking around the room when Jeannie appeared behind him, her hands on his back and using him as a shield between her and that other djinn. He appeared very powerful to her and she did not wish to cross him.

"Ah, Jeannie! There you are. Why are you cowering behind this one?" Hadji's voice boomed out. Jeannie yelped at that and blinked out. "Now what's gotten into her? You! Tell me what happened again, but slower and everything you can remember. Or I will pull out your tongue and track Jeannie down to get the same story out of her."

The idea of having his tongue removed made Roger swallow hard. He'd have a helluva time with the girls if that happened.

"Well, it all started earlier today, or was that yesterday?" Roger tried to think, and was given a boost to the task at hand by a great scowl from Hadji. Roger rushed on, but tried not to hurry too much.

"Okay, sometime in the last 12 hours, Tony found this lamp out in the desert (some guys have all the luck) while we were doing some stuff for NASA. He must have rubbed it or something, and this djinni woman smokes out of it, you know, with her legs still in her smoke? But, man! Was she a knockout! She was prettier than even Jeannie! Anyway, I tried to get there and get some of the action myself, but she took one look at me and turned me into salt. I don't know exactly what happened after that, other than Jeannie showed up, blinked me back to normal, and we were surrounded by military people everywhere. And they were all trying to get into this _huge_ palace that covers the whole desert we were surveying. And, as soon as I told Jeannie what had happened, she gets all jealous of the other djinni, and blinks us inside to where that djinni is lounging on pillows with Tony and feeding him. And Tony has this look of utter bliss on his face as if he had no idea he was a married man. And married to a very jealous djinni at that! The other djinni then tells Jeannie that Tony is hers and that she can just have me as her Master. But Jeannie wouldn't hear it, and tried to attack the other djinni, pulling on her hair, only to get blinked into smoke and put into that lamp," Roger rambled on, not stopping even as he snatched up the magically-polished brass lamp and handed it to Hadji. "Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah! Jeannie is now in this lamp, and she says to me that I can have Jeannie as she is just a lesser djinni anyway, and blinks me outside of the palace again, making me appear in a group of soldiers all with guns pointing at me. I must have rubbed the lamp because Jeannie smokes out, just like that other djinni, and saves us, taking us back here. And, uh, oh yeah! That other djinni also turned all of the soldiers into camels and it made the news here and everyone is running for their lives (except us) and, and, that's it, I think." Roger had to wipe sweat from his brow, hoping that was good enough and he would get to keep his tongue.

"That's my Genie!" Hadji chuckled, turning away with a look of reminiscence on his face. Roger wasn't about to ask, nor would he attempt to interrupt. So he waited, his fidgeting returning in no time.

Hadji soon turned back to face Roger and started explaining it all to him, in the manner of a friend talking about his past.

"Genie was my lover, 10,000 years ago. I was only in my 1100's while she was a few years shy of her ninth century."

"10,000 years? Hadji, you don't look a day over 500! Heh-heh!" His laughter stopped short from the unfriendly glare Hadji gave him.

"If Jeannie were not my favorite djinni, we would not be having this conversation. But, fortunately for you, only a human may help your friends out of this situation. First, I need to see if I can get Jeannie back. I need to discuss this with her." Roger was not expecting what Hadji did next: he blinked and Jeannie appeared to Roger's left. She yelped in surprise yet again and tried to blink out, only nothing happened. As soon as she realized the powerful djinn before her was obstructing her magic, she bowed her head in acquiescence.

"There, there, child, there is no reason to fear me," Hadji explained, placing a hand on Jeannie's bowed head. She tilted her face up to him, her eyes revealing the meekness she presented towards Hadji, and he could only sigh. He knew his old lover's tricks, and this was one her worst.

"Well, perhaps it might be best if you got back into your lamp, child. Your 'Master' and I have something to talk about that you would not understand." Jeannie looked over to Roger as if to get his permission first, getting only a sighing nod from him. She never looked back to Hadji as she simply shifted into pink smoke and drifted over to where her lamp still sat on the bed, disappearing from sight as she slipped into it.

. . .

Hadji related his past with Genie, filling in only those details that were absolutely necessary. Roger was rapt with interest, partly to know if there was anything he could use in the future to get his own djinni. He had to keep his focus on his friends or none of his plans would ever come to be.

"Genie and I were quite the pair all those millennia ago. I was just beginning my first century as the leader of all the djinn when she and I met. Her character has been this way since she was born to our kind. I won't get into why. Suffice it to say, we all knew she was a, how do you humans say it? Ah yes, a 'loose cannon.' She could be controlled by the right djinn and I was that djinn. I must admit that we both would sometimes bend the rules for properly treating humans but I never broke them. Genie lusted for that kind of power, making me save her from the rest of the Djinn all too often. She never gave up wanting to control humans and the whole of humanity. I just thought that since we loved each other I might be able to change her ways. However, with my title as Master of all the Djinn, that simply fueled her desire for equal power over everyone all the more. Despite what you saw of your friend and Jeannie's Master, Genie has no love for humans. They are nothing more than playthings to her, to be tossed aside or killed when she is done with them. We do not tolerate such actions by any of the Djinn, except in cases of justified vengeance and self-defense. We do not kill without good reason, just as your kind treats this matter, if I am not mistaken.

"Genie never changed in the two centuries we were together. A council of the Djinn was formed to deal with the problem she presented and it was decided to banish her from our midst. As I was one of the most powerful of all Djinn, their decision was that I must take on the task of banishment. It broke--." Hadji started, his voice cracking the only time in all the years Roger had or would know him. The leader of the Djinn cleared his throat and continued. "It broke my heart to do that to her. Yet, I had no choice. She was to be cast out and there would be no argument, no compromise in the matter. I had to trick her into her lamp and once in, I put the magic on it that would keep her held within. Only the hand of a human rubbing the sides in the traditional way would release her again. I did that thinking perhaps thousands of years would have changed her mind and ways. The desert had many places where the caravans and nomads never ventured. I picked the one spot furthest away from those routes with enough loose stones and gravel to make normal camel travel too rough for even their great pads. Had I not witnessed it all myself I never could have imagined the future evolutionary level of humanity. If I had been paying any attention at all, I surely would have moved her lamp deep into the Sahara. Jeannie and her Master would never have been subjected to all the trouble I am partly responsible for." Hadji stopped with a look on his face like he was still thinking about those thousands of years long passed.

Roger took that moment to interrupt, as some things didn't add up.

"What did you do way back then? I mean, civilization wasn't around back then, so what'd you do for Masters?" Hadji faced the human friend of Jeannie's as that one spoke. It made him chuckle at what was being asked of him. Still, he could not reveal so much.

"Your modern archeologists have not been able to look as far back into human history as you think. We keep them from knowing some things. Evidence exists of our influence on the beginning of your civilization, and we cannot have that coming to light. Perhaps in a few more centuries, when your kind has matured to a more reasonable level of understanding." Hadji was quiet once more, only he took the moment to look Roger over. There was more to that look than sight alone, though Roger wasn't aware of it. Hadji merely nodded in approval before speaking.

"Yes, I do believe you are just the right person for this task. Roger of Healey, you must go to the Minaret of Lamps and snuff out the flame of Genie's lamp. All Djinn are forbidden to step foot in our most Sacred room, much less take on this task. Now pay close attention! This is very important and must be remembered and followed exactly.

"All this is going to do is give us some time. Only another of the Djinn can extinguish the flame of another djinn or djinni permanently. Each of the Djinn has his or her own lamp that comes into being when they are born or otherwise brought into the world of the Djinn. It is the source of their magic, so long as the flame burns. Extinguish it and the connection to their powers is extinguished with it. You will do this to the lamp of Genie, my former love. This will give us all the time necessary for Jeannie to return to her senses and rescue her Master. I will give her instructions when the time comes.

"You must be careful not to touch any of the other lamps or take the chance of the same fate taking place for any others of the Djinn. Genie's lamp is by itself on its own pedestal, at the rear of a larger family of lamps. That is the family for the Djinn of the Blue magic. All members of the Djinn are divided into the colors of the rainbow, save one smaller family that consists of all colors together. Genie's is at the top and back, her pedestal higher than the rest. Her lamp is the most polished of them all with a ring of sapphires around the base and rim. A single large ruby studs the tip of the lid. The handle is made of red gold while the rest of the lamp is of the normal magical gold from which all Djinn magic-connection lamps are created. It sparkles with her power even in darkness. You will see when you get there."

"How do I get there? Is it nearby?" Roger asked rather stupidly, looking around for the window. Hadji just sighed, loudly, making Roger snap back to facing the Djinn's leader.

"I do wonder how some of you humans ever get through your normal lives," he said, holding up his hands with his index and middle fingers together to his thumbs. A flick of his wrists and Roger was on his way and out of Hadji's presence. He knew Roger would not be long, no matter what that klutz of a human managed. Jeannie's life as a normal djinni was more important to Hadji. Once Genie's connection to her Sacred Lamp was broken, Jeannie would require Hadji's presence as she regained her memories and mind. Hadji floated Jeannie's lamp to his awaiting hands as he spoke to her.

"All will be right once again, Jeannie. I promise you that." He could 'see' Jeannie cowering inside, under covers and a pile of pillows and clothed in the same style as his former lover's. How he had ever allowed Genie's personality to get the better of him, he would never know. She would pay for her actions this time around and he would show no leniency.

. . .


	6. Chapter 6

. . .

Chapter Six

Roger had been subjected to more magic over the years than he could recall, yet teleportation had to be the weirdest. Even getting turned into salt or various animals didn't faze him like being blinked from one part of the world to another. None of his engineering and scientific knowledge could have prepared him for the existence of magic nor that it could do the things he'd been part of. However, he'd have it no other way ever since being exposed to that fantastic world. Roger was about to endear himself to one of the most powerful magical beings on the planet and he knew better than to screw it up!

The "room" he appeared in was round and very large. If that was what the Djinn called a minaret he had to wonder what the rest of the palace it belonged to looked like! The roof was a low arched dome of roughly hewn stone. He wasn't a geologist, so he didn't recognize it, only that it was light in color, maybe like limestone. The walls and floor were of the same stone, none of it remarkable in any way. What stood out in the whole room were the hundreds of burning lamps, resting upon what looked like candelabras. All of the lamp-holders were designed to have one raised spot at the back for a single lamp. The rest of the lesser lamp-pedestals cascaded down to more and more of the same, displaying each of their lamps plus open spaces for new ones. In fact, as Roger was slowly taking in the whole room, he saw two more lamps appear in separate groups. He remembered he was in the Djinn's past, so those were two more djinns or djinnis added to the future.

Roger saw the separate groups by color as Hadji had related. What Hadji had not given any indication of was the multitude present. The sheer number of magical, Djinn-controlling lamps floored Roger. Were there really that many Djinn in the world? It looked like hundreds of lamps, all their gently flickering flames lighting the room with more brilliance than the daylight streaming into the room. The single arched opening in the curved wall bisected the ring of lamp-groups, as if it were the only way into the room, whether by magic or climbing. Roger was walking over to it before he knew it and leaning out slightly to take in the view.

There was a city out there, or was it a palace to which the minaret belonged? He couldn't tell; architecture had never been much of an interest to him. Just give him the lovely beauties likely to populate said palace and he was happy. Only, there didn't seem to be any activity at all in those narrow streets. No smells, no noise, no nothing. Just the hot air wafting in from the surrounding desert sands. Nothing looked familiar, not even for what little he remembered about Baghdad or Tehran. This _was_ an ancient city and it likely didn't exist in his time. It was too much to ponder, he thought, and backed away to return to his task at hand.

Roger looked to the right of the window and saw the presentation of the first "family" of lamps. They rested on multiple branches and pedestals of a bright red colored metal, the bases shaped like open flowers of some kind. Had Roger even noticed some of the icons in modern culture, he'd have known they were meant to look like lotus flowers. Even so, the lamps rested on their pedestals rather precariously as the "petals" were several inches lower than the center portion, just large enough to accommodate the exact size of the lamp bases. He had no idea what kind of metal could be colored like that and assumed everything had to be magical. A quick glance over what must have been a hundred lamps in the "red" group did not reveal the one he was looking for at the top, nor anywhere near it.

The next family further along the wall to the right was held aloft in the same manner as the red family. He had no name for that style of lamp-holder, only that it looked like a flattened and spread out candelabra. The branches quite literally looked as such, ornamented and shaped like real branches on a plant or tree. The metal for that family was of a brightly polished orange. He barely noticed that the next huge family to its right was of yellow metal before he was looking back to his left. He quickly took in the group of rainbow-colored metal candelabras, then magenta, pink and violet families beyond. He had to keep turning to take in the whole room, noting the rest of the family-colors going around the minaret's interior wall. Only two more colors left, he thought, as he passed over turquoise and finally blue, though the latter seemed "richer" in depth than any version he had seen in normal reality. In fact, all of the colors had that look to them, making him mentally kick himself for not realizing it was _magic_.

Luckily for Roger's task, he noticed that each family had some amount of moving space around them as if they were designed just for what he had to do. Still, it was going to be tight.

"Okay, here goes nothing!" Roger said and walked over to the Blue family, veering to the left in order to get behind most of the lamps. He found something of a path or space between those rearmost lamps and closed in on the single lamp of Genie's. However, in getting there, he neglected to pick his feet up sufficiently. He scuffed one foot on the rough stones and stumbled. Roger lost his balance just enough to hit one set of lamps to his right, tipping over the topmost of a fair-sized group. Before he could reach out and grab the lamp, it was tumbling down onto the other pedestals around it, taking more lamps with it in a weird kind of avalanche.

"No, no, no!" he cried out, grabbing at the lamps he could, and only managed to stop two out of seven from falling off their pedestals. One item in that group wasn't a lamp at all, but the familiar glass Djinn bottle he knew all too well. It was decorated in a similar manner as Jeannie's yet it had no color. The designs were barely visible only because they were raised above its surface a fair amount. The glass did not reflect, making it look as if it were an embossed space of nothingness. Yet, it wasn't invisible and it wasn't black. The visual effect was as if it was there and not there at the same time. Still, that bottle had some kind of substance to it as it was carried off its perch along with the rest of the lamps. It fell in a kind of slow-motion as Roger's senses increased to try and prevent any of it from happening at all. While the lamps hit the floor without much damage to them, the bottle wasn't so lucky. Roger cringed inwardly and visibly at watching its demise.

The other lamps tumbled down and managed to land around that bottle, as if none wanted to be near it. The substance of the bottle shattered much like glass, only in shards too tiny to allow it to be glued back together. Roger thought that maybe a djinni could repair it magically; that would be the only way he could see it being returned to a whole bottle again. However, that was not to be the case for that particular piece of magical glass.

The shattering of the bottle released a cloud of smoke that encompassed all the colors of the rainbow. It pulled itself together over the shattered mess, never billowing upwards. Its smoky substance touched the remains and quickly consumed all shards. Even pieces that had scattered many feet away turned into that strangely beautiful smoke to join the growing cloud. In less than three seconds, the remnants of the bottle were gone. The mesmerizing beautiful smoke rose into the air over the lamps and their pedestals. At that point, it did the normal Djinn transformation-from-smoke process and turned into a small column of dust. It dissipated fast, making Roger sneeze. That in turn brought to his immediate attention the other major problem he had caused. Taking care of that mess right away was best, especially as it had the potential of causing worse problems, if that was at all possible.

Roger fell into a panic as the lamp oils that had spilled everywhere caught fire almost as soon as the other five lamps had hit the floor. The lamp-flames had gone out just after they hit, though their fires had stayed lit long enough to ignite that spilled oil. Their individual lamp oils had mixed thoroughly in two separate pools with both catching fire. Roger had no idea what the significance of that could mean; he thought he'd likely hear of the stories associated with this particular fiasco much later.

Nonetheless, Roger tried to stamp out the fire and only managed to get flaming oil on his boots. He kicked the five lamps away from their puddles of burning oil, patted out his own flames and managed to stay clear of the remaining fire and pedestals around him.

"It's like a burning ring of fire! Why do they need flames to keep their powers?" he asked aloud and worked his way back to the only lamp he had come for. Roger neither knocked over nor jostled any other lamps as he managed to step more carefully that time.

"Okay, you dirty, lousy djinni, this is for my best friend and his djinni!" he said, the anger at what that djinni had done to his two best friends coming forth in his voice. Roger licked the fingers of his right hand and reached out for the flame of Genie's lamp. He snapped them together over the inch-long flame that issued forth from that lavish yet almost gaudy lamp. It extinguished with just a slight flicker of leftover flame above his fingertips. That little lick of flame switched from yellow to the same indigo blue of the lamp-group and then it was gone. Roger still made sure it had gone out, giving the spout a close inspection. He stood back a couple of paces, again being careful not to hit any of the other lamps, yet staying clear of the still burning puddles of oil. He waited, unaware yet still wanting to know exactly what was going on with Genie and his best djinni-friend, Jeannie. Roger had no other thoughts about the Djinn associated with all those other lamps he had knocked over. There was no doubt he would learn much later from Jeannie and all present would have a good laugh over it.

. . .

Jeannii just happened to be using a mirror to check her hair and earrings when to her horror, she watched as her beautiful face and skin turned blue. If the "color" of her face could have paled at the sight of that change, it certainly would have. Yet, she had enough sense about her to recognize that color almost immediately as the biggest sneaky grin formed on her lips. She had blinked out in no time, off to take care of something she had always wanted.

. . .

One of the largest palaces in Old Baghdad was home to possibly the worst the Djinn had to offer the world, other than Genie. That is, the Blue Djinn resided there and controlled more than just the residents he kept in servitude. Besides Hadji and Genie, he was considered the most powerful of all the Djinn and his 'title' would continue that way for as long as he lived in that world. Thus, he was surprised, angered and frightened when his normal bright blue skin turned pale like any other Caucasian djinn or djinni. He felt a weakness in his powers at the same time. What was causing it?! Only one explanation came to mind and he was forbidden to do anything to counter it. He had only to wait until the magic of that place righted whatever event had happened to cause his power loss and physical change.

. . .

Djinn-Djinn was aware of his powers if in a simplistic way. He knew how to get what he wanted and still be a good dog to those that loved him and he loved being with. He understood his limits with magic and he knew when his ability was weak or strong in power due to sickness or health. He had been subjected to the powers of other djinns and djinnis and knew what that feeling was like. However, he had never had his powers changed by the magic that governed his origins.

The little djinn-dog didn't know what to do when his scruffy fur turned to orange and black tiger stripes and he grew a hump in the middle of his back. Djinn-Djinn tried to change back to normal, but nothing happened. He had to know how this had happened and right away! He performed a method of teleporting that he had learned in order to track another of the Djinn or similar magical creatures. With that, he vanished and reappeared in front of a rather scruffy-looking and orange-striped camel. Djinn-Djinn didn't talk, but telepathy amongst Djinn-animals was their normal way of communicating. The camel 'spoke' to him first.

"I see it happened to you, too. I got your fur and a tiger's stripes," the voice of a female camel said in his mind. She gave him her name as she did that, letting Djinn-Djinn know she was called Zareen. He had never met this camel, though there were a few other Djinn-camels out there he did know. He gave Zareen his name as he replied.

"Yes, and I got your hump, too. Did we share powers?"

"I don't know. Maybe we should find that tiger first," Zareen said just as a large and ferocious-looking tiger appeared next to her. Only it would have looked more ferocious without the hump and scruffy fur. "Or maybe not. Hello! You must be the third one of us that has shared forms. We were wondering if our powers were shared, too. Do you know?"

"No, I don't, and I don't like this change, either," a deep male voice said in their minds with the identity of Arvand. "I hope it's temporary. It felt like someone was in the Minaret of Lamps and upset the order."

"I think you're right," Djinn-Djinn said. "I hope it reverses soon, too. I tried to change back, but nothing happened. My powers are limited. Manifesting anything much larger than me is another of my weaknesses and I can't stop Time nor travel in it. Can either of you do that?"

"I can," Zareen said, and disappeared. She reappeared a few seconds later. "But I can't go back very far any more. I used to be able to go all the way back to the beginning of the Djinn, but I only got about a hundred years back this time. I would really miss that power if I lost it. Would one of you try?"

"I will," said Arvand and disappeared. As with Zareen, only a few seconds passed before Arvand reappeared. His excitement came through his telepathic voice as he jumped around in glee. "I have never been able to travel very far back, either, but I just went back a hundred-thousand years!"

"I have to try this, too!" Djinn-Djinn said and vanished with the thought of going back as far as Arvand had. He knew what he would see that far back and appeared in a lush green valley of 100,000 years ago. He was almost overcome in delight with how well it had worked, and quickly disappeared to return to his new friends.

"It worked for me, too!" he practically yelped he was so ecstatic with the possibilities open to him at that moment. "We should go play with our shared powers, until things are righted again."

"I agree!" Zareen replied. Arvand merely nodded his approval and Zareen didn't wait for discussion on where to go and what to do. She just used her powers as she knew how and made them all vanish.

. . .

Deep inside that lamp Jeannie resided in, something clicked. Or rather, something oppressive simply went away. Jeannie was herself once more and she was so relieved. She only hoped things had not progressed beyond a point she could rectify, yet she still had to try. She did not care if it meant that other djinni banished her yet again, she was not about to let that one take her Master from her!

Before Jeannie could even fold her arms to blink out, she received an urgent thought-form from someone she trusted with her life and powers almost as much as her Anthony.

"Jeannie! Go to the palace now and avenge your Master! Genie has none of her powers for the next minute, so time is of the essence," Hadji telepathed with the greatest amount of urgency he could muster as the Master of All Djinn. Jeannie understood and barely thanked Hadji for the information before she blinked out.

. . .


	7. Chapter 7

* * *

Chapter Seven

Genie had just cleaned up the two of them from yet another hour of intimate fun, though she did let the human plaything have a rest for the time being. She was pondering their future, such as how long to keep him before going out and finding some other unsuspecting human, when she felt the disconnect. She had only one reaction to it.

"Hadji!" she screamed and lept from the bed to rush over to the doors. If she could just get back to her lamp, she'd be safe from the consequences. She never reached those massive doors for they had disappeared in a familiar blink-sound. An unwelcome djinni stood in their place, dressed in the normal styles and colors of a present-day djinni.

"The slipper is on the other foot now, Genie!" Jeannie said calmly, her anger fuming through the words. Genie lost all the color in her beautiful face, yet she had no time to react in any other way as Jeannie pounced. She had both hands out, fingers curled like the claws of a great cat, eyes burning with a fury known only to Djinn and their Masters. Her attack took the temporarily powerless djinni by surprise, just as Jeannie got two big handfuls of fluffy djinni-hair.

Genie instinctively tried to use her powers on Jeannie without remembering that they had left her and that mistake cost her valuable time. As Jeannie had both hands into all of that silky light-brown hair, she twisted the two of them around to get behind Genie, pulling her head back as she blinked. Like all of her fellow Djinn, Jeannie naturally had superhuman strength as a kind of side-effect of her magic powers. So it was no trouble for Jeannie to overpower the 'woman' in her grasp. Her blink had produced Genie's lamp into the air between them as the lid opened up and found all that hair. Upon contact with Genie's silky tresses, the magic of the lamp took hold. To the casual observer, it would have looked as if Jeannie was literally stuffing the other woman into the top of the lamp, shrinking her down to just wad her inside. The magical lamp was merely taking claim of its former occupant once more and bringing her into its metallic embrace. Jeannie let go and stood back, making sure Genie was not up to any tricks during the process.

It took the lamp only several seconds to consume the djinni, the lid snapping into place with a satisfying ring of metal on metal! Jeannie saw the magical seals return and Genie was trapped once again. Only another human could release her, and she knew the answer to that. Grinning at capturing such an evil djinni, Jeannie reached out to take the lamp just as Hadji appeared before her. Normally, Jeannie would have dropped to her knees and bowed before the Great one. However, the circumstances and her utter delight trumped that formality. Jeannie handed over the lamp before she jumped up and wrapped her arms around Hadji for a great big hug.

"Oh, Hadji! Thank you so much! I do not know if I can ever repay you for this." Hadji chuckled at her reaction, forgiving her for forgetting the proper greetings.

"Just keep up the good work as your Master's djinni, my dear. You should go to him now," he said, nodding over to the bed behind them. Jeannie's face lit up as she bounded happily over to her Master, now groggily getting up from the covers and silks. Jeannie was at his side in moments, hugging him and helping him up. Hadji walked over and helped Jeannie with her husband and Master. Jeannie stood up with her Master, supporting him under his right arm. Hadji then took the three of them and the lamp out of the world.

Three figures appeared on the far side of the moon, their faces turned to the deepness of space. Tony was stunned when he saw where they were, gaping first at Hadji, then at Jeannie. She smiled her best at him, hugging him all the more. No words were needed in that exchange as Tony hugged his djinni in return, holding her close as Hadji glanced over to them. He looked down at the lamp in his hands, sighing at what troubles it had caused.

"You will never learn, Genie, so I am banishing you from humanity. You will never trouble them again," he said. He could see her inside, livid with rage yet powerless to get out or do anything at all about her fate. Hadji let that be the last image he had of her, as a reminder that she could never be released to human society again. Their current level of social and spiritual evolution would never be ready for the likes of her, now or in the future. They were not ready to confront and control such a beast of a djinni for a very long time.

Hadji took hold of that large golden ring at the back of Genie's lamp, raising his arm high in the space above and behind him, and with as much power as he had within him, flung her lamp into space. It vanished from sight in mere moments. Jeannie was humbled by such a punishment. Tony was still trying to come to terms with being on the Moon without a spacesuit. The visage of the lamp disappearing into the deep black sky was only a blip in his current recovering state of mind.

"Hadji? Was that not cruel to send her out into space?" Jeannie asked meekly. She knew better than to question the Great One's motives, but the circumstances in their case were very unusual. Hadji looked at her with moistened eyes and a slight smile.

"No, child, not this time. She will be allowed back to the Earth in 10,000 years. Humanity will be long gone by then and she will have no one to control ever again."

"What do you mean by that? Where will humans—all the people be?" Tony asked, dumbfounded that humanity would leave the Earth permanently for any reason. Jeannie tugged on his clothing to get his attention, but Hadji held up a hand first.

"It is part of our Sacred Texts and is not for humanity to know at this time. Fear not! Humans will advance with the Djinn and all will be well. So it is written!" With that, Hadji took the three of them out of existence once more and returned them to the palace. Looking around him in the main lobby, he was still impressed with the styling.

"Genie still has the knack for opulence, I'll grant her that. Now, you two heal and take care of things here. I have two other loose ends to tie up. Be well, Anthony of Nelson. Salaam, Jeannie!" He bowed to both of them and disappeared. Jeannie and Tony greeted one another all over again, happy to be free of that other Genie, yet remaining disquieted by Hadji's punishment of her. They could forget that easily enough as they embraced and kissed, oblivious to the world and everyone in it.

* * *

Upon returning to the hotel room, Hadji changed the bed back into what it had been while shrinking the room's spatial dimensions accordingly. He then brought his hands up in a gesture very much like what he had used to get Roger to the Minaret of Lamps and returned the human to his presence once more. Roger looked about him in shock, recovered and then cowered before Hadji, afraid for the consequences awaiting him. He had enough sense to ask about the reason he went to that minaret.

"Did it work? Are Jeannie and Tony okay?" Hadji's grin was all the answer Roger really needed.

"They are safe, Roger of Healey. The threat is gone and they will be returning to your presence soon. I think they want some time to recover and make-up," he said with a wink. Roger sighed his relief at hearing that and chuckled as he knew all too well just what his best friend and wife would be doing to "make-up".

"Oh, that's such a relief!" he said, wiping his brow. He still had to let Hadji know of that little bit of stumbling in the lamp-room and he didn't want to bring it up.

"The lamps you knocked over will be safe, Roger of Healey. The fire is out and they have been returned to their proper places. You will never be going back to that room again, not with that performance!" Hadji bellowed, grimacing at the human. He held that face for only a few moments, then a broad grin formed in its place.

"However, there were some, how should I say, mishaps with the powers of two djinn and three djinn-animals. The animals formed new friendships while one of the other two Djinn is in a bit of a scrape right now. I will be rescuing her from her own selfishness soon enough. I will have to tell you that story another time, though it is one I think you would enjoy, since you know her, being Jeannie's sister, Jeannii," Hadji said with a rare laugh. Roger found he could begin to like the leader of all the Djinn and allowed himself to mellow enough to laugh with the ancient djinn.

"As for the bottle that was broken…" Hadji started and then did another rare thing: he hugged a very stunned and taken aback Roger. The other man did nothing for what do you do in that kind of situation? Hadji patted Roger on the back rather hard, making him grimace, though he didn't show it to the djinn.

"You have just released all of the Djinn from a curse unfairly placed on us all after the time of the Great Suleiman. A powerful sorcerer discovered the Seal of Suleiman and twisted its intent. Thus, that bottle was born, trapping the Djinn in time and preventing any evolution along with humanity. It is more than a physical evolution and one that has also lost further hindrance with the exile of my Genie. You will not live to witness it, but perhaps Jeannie will travel back to your time here and tell you about it. I do not doubt that she would do that for such a friend as you.

"Now then, Roger of Healey, I do believe that some form of reward is in order for your assistance. What form should that take for you?" Hadji asked and for once in all the time Roger had ever been around him, the Great One folded his arms like he was awaiting the granting of a wish. It took Roger off-guard much as everything else in that eventful and long day had done. He only gaped at Hadji for a few seconds when he characteristically recovered and launched back into good old Roger Healey mode.

"Oh, well then, I think my very own djinni would be just the thing! What kind of lovely djinni-girls do you have ready to please ol' fun-loving Rog?" he said, excited _almost_ beyond words. Hadji smirked at his request before explaining.

"That I cannot provide. A djinn or djinni can only be found and rescued or you must be picked by the djinn or djinni to be his or her Master. Those are the rules."

"Oh! Well, that's too bad. Do you know any that would like a Master?"

"Roger of Healey! I cannot supply a djinni to you. If you persist in this line of requests I shall just have to leave and you will get no reward!" Roger clammed up for fear of losing out on anything. His one track mind was fixated on the acquisition of some lovely ladies once more, as he recalled the harem Jeannie had blinked up for him earlier and dispatched to his apartment. And that was it! Although it was nice to have that small harem, what he really needed was a much larger one to attend to _all_ of his needs.

"Okay, okay! How about some harem girls then? At my apartment, with all the other, not here," he said, waving an arm around the room. Hadji smiled at that request and came up with a compromise that could encompass the human's existing harem as well. He held out his right hand, and an ornately decorated djinni bottle appeared in it. He handed it over to Roger as the other looked on as greedily as ever.

"My own djinni bottle! But, I thought you said I couldn't have a djinni?"

"You cannot. That is a bottled harem. Uncork it, rub the side to summon her and a harem girl will smoke out. Rub it again and she will smoke back into it. The next time you rub the bottle a different harem girl will appear. No two are alike, no matter how often you rub it."

"Ooooo!" Roger cooed and immediately tried it out, uncorking the silver and gold bottle. He ran his fingers down the side exactly as he had done all those years back when he had summoned Jeannie that first time. As his fingers reached the base of the bottle, golden smoke began to issue forth. It arced over to his left and quickly deposited a brunette haremgirl in gold and white harem clothing. She brought her hands together to bow to Roger, looking back up to him with a broad smile of magically perfect teeth and tea-colored lips. Roger could hardly hold himself back, but had to see if the other part worked by rubbing the bottle again. The haremgirl lightly blinked her deep blue eyes once without nodding her head or folding her arms and turned back into golden smoke. She formed the familiar column that Jeannie used and smoked back inside Roger's harem-bottle. His hands were shaking with excitement as he corked it and managed to shake Hadji's hand in utmost thanks.

"Thank you, Hadji! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he said, still shaking the Djinn-leader's hand. Hadji managed to extract his hand from Roger's, without his usual annoyance. The human _did_ save his favorite djinni, her Master, allowed him to finally exile the worst of his kind and released the Djinn to their proper evolution, so he had to let the human have his excitement for such a simple reward. He grinned to himself, though, at the knowledge Roger of Healey would learn later when the bottle-harem start to use their powers. Oh, nothing like granting wishes unless those wishes encompassed getting a backrub, a scented bath, a feast or any unlimited number of pleasures a good harem girl could provide with a little of her own magic powers. It would be enough to satisfy him and the rest of his harem without going so far as giving him his own djinni. Although the vision was cloudy, Hadji could tell a djinni was indeed in his future. He could see no more than the fact that one would come to him. It puzzled Hadji sufficiently that he made a note to himself back in his official chambers. A magic scroll unfurled itself there and his thoughts were scripted onto its surface as if someone were writing the words with an invisible quill. He would research this conundrum later.

"You are most welcome, Roger of Healey. If that is all, I must go. Jeannie and her Master will be returning soon, so I suggest you take care of yourself and your reward. You _may_ call on me, but only if any problems arise with any member of your harem. They should not disobey you, but as I supplied the magic that creates them, it will take my magic to correct any difficulties. Salaam, Roger of Healey," Hadji said with a flourish and vanished with his usual thunderclap just for good measure. He would be keeping his eye on that one, and not for any minor reason.

* * *


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

"Oh Jeannie, it's so good to have you back! It's good to _be_ back!" Tony said, hugging his wife and djinni. Jeannie had her arms wrapped around his chest, her face buried in his Persian caftan. She looked up to him as he said that, noticing that he was still speaking in ancient Persian, yet still giving him her happiest and brightest smile. She would change his language back to English later. It was a nice touch to hear him speak in her native tongue.

"Anthony, it is _so_ wonderful to have you back, too!" she said then lost her smile as she thought about what had just happened to her and her only love in the world. She looked away in shame before continuing. "But I failed you, as your djinni and your wife. I should have never let that evil woman get the better of me." Tony let go of her just enough to touch her chin and direct her face back to his. Tears had welled up and were rolling down both cheeks.

"There, there, Jeannie. It wasn't anyone's fault, least of all yours. You heard Hadji. She was as powerful as he was and didn't obey the rules. You can't fight a power like that the kind of advantage you were granted. But she's gone, forever, and we don't have to worry about the likes of her ever again. I do love you, Jeannie. I always will, no matter what magic does to my mind and thoughts. My heart will never break from yours, you have my word on that."

"Oh, my darling Anthony!" Jeannie cried and the two of them kissed, deeper than before, Jeannie's sobs dwindling as Tony felt his own emotions well up into tears of joy. He broke the kiss to hold her head close to his cheek, her veil and ponytail smothering him blissfully. Her natural mixed djinni-scents of lavender, rose and jasmine drifted up from her, reminding Tony of yet another reason he loved that special djinni he had married. Her smoke always smelled that way and he had always loved it. She never needed to wear human perfumes even though she would do so every now and then. He would have to let her know the scent of magic was more than enough. If they ever broke off their hug, that was. Not that he minded. In fact, he could have held her until the end of days if he wanted to, and she would make it happen. Tony Nelson let those thoughts fade and thanked whatever gods or spirits or whatever there were that he had his wife back and no one was going to take her away again.

So many thoughts could have raced through Jeannie's mind as they embraced, but only one stayed front and center: how much she loved her Anthony, her Master. If there was any way to know of any future event that could take him away from her, she would find it and prevent its occurrence. She would simply not allow this or anything like it to happen again, and she just _knew_ she had the power to accomplish such a feat. Her Anthony was hers forever more, their hearts linked just as he had said. She knew that truth in her heart just as she _knew_ they would be together, always.

Neither djinni nor Master wanted to let go of the other, so Jeannie blinked, and took advantage of the bed nearby. Her magic changed it into one she would have provided, given the opportunity and removed that horrid Genie's creation to absolute nothingness. She would do the same with that abominable palace after a little quality time of her own with her Anthony.

Tony didn't want to ruin the mood, but there were still some pressing issues Jeannie needed to take care of and all of them required magic. She felt so wonderful in his arms, snuggling, touching and lightly kissing him that it took all of his willpower to stop from partaking.

"Uh, Jeannie, I think we need to hold off. I want you, just as much as I know you want me, but we are still in trouble. Like this palace for instance," he said as Jeannie not only stopped but looked at him more annoyed than puzzled. However, at the mention of the trouble still around them, she knew exactly what he meant. She could only sigh, frown and prop herself up on her forearms, her hands flat on his chest.

"Yes, Master, I know. But can we not have just a little cuddling first? I have missed you _so_ much!" she said, dropping her chin to his chest once more. She never dropped her eyes from his but kept the frown.

"Then we better get things taken care of. You know what to do about all this," he said with a look around and a wave of a hand. "Then we can get back to Roger and let him know we're all right. After that, and whatever else we have to correct, _then_ we can get back to where we were."

Jeannie had listened, dejectedly, knowing he was right. She did have to take care of the palace and the camels and everything else that evil woman had created. She _so_ wanted to share her time with her darling Anthony, no matter what was left to be blinked. At the thought of the word 'time' she got the most wonderful idea. Her face brightened up once more, setting a puzzled face on Tony.

"Master! I know exactly how to delay our tasks, if you do not mind," she started while her Master tried to protest.

"Now, Jeannie, you know we can't delay a moment longer--"

"But Master, that is just it! I can stop the moments. I can stop time!" she squealed and hugged him all over again, happy beyond words at remembering what she had done just the previous day. All her Master had to do was wish it and they could recover from their individual ordeals together.

"What? Oh, right, I guess you can. Well, it does have a nice appeal to it..." he said, thinking it over. He actually loved her idea and he wasn't about to disappoint her at that trying moment in their lives. Better to just go along and enjoy everything she could provide them. "Okay, why not? I could use a vacation from all that! All right, Jeannie, I wish you would stop Time for us."

"Oh, _thank you_ Master!" she squealed, hugging him tightly around his neck. She let go almost as quickly, sat up on her heels and on his knees to fold her arms for a great big nod and blink. The magic exploded through her and she knew one reason why she did not use it very often: it left her as magically exhilarated as possible for a djinni. She had quelled those sensations yesterday when she had smoked into that old lamp. This time, though, she was free to let those feelings out, to help wash away all the suffering of shame and hurt. It was all just the right combination of a magical rush and the idea of being able to take all the time they needed. So, with time stopped, her sexy Master and husband was in for the magic carpet ride of his life! She giggled in anticipation and slowly dropped her arms to slink back down to him, teasing all along the way.

A bedroom is a private place, no matter if camels populated the land where humans had been and even if a powerful djinni had just stopped time. Thus, a small blink and the towering doors to their bedroom were restored, shut and locked, while no sounds of the ensuing play and laughter could be heard. Djinni and Master remained there for what might have been hours in any normal reality, had there been a single clock in the world still ticking away those very hours.

~*~

Roger crossed the hallway between their hotel rooms and closed his door behind him. He had to try out that bottle again, he thought, and rubbed it once more. He kind of expected the smoke to be a different color, but was not prepared for the bottle changing colors, also. There was a sound like a mass of tiny bells shaking gently as his fingers reached that special spot on the bottle. The magic took the old colors and details away while a forest-green with cobalt-blue highlights appeared over the surface. The details had become that of a geometric pattern Roger may have seen around the city. Like his sense of architecture, however, it was without any meaning or purpose.

Roger did notice that the smoke made the same shaking-bells sound when his new harem girl appeared out of it. He'd have to see if that was unique to each one, though he dismissed that thought as he eyed the new harem-beauty before him. She had light-brown hair with a green outfit for most of the silks, other than a cobalt-blue vest she wore unbuttoned. She grinned to Roger, ready to please and bowed slightly, hands together.

"What is your wish of me, O Master?" she intoned in a voice as light and airy as the smoke from which she had materialized. Roger was barely holding himself back at that point, rubbing his hands in utmost glee. He did need to answer her as he tried to think of something she could do without further delay.

"Oh, I can think of a lot of things! Hoho, heh-heh," he laughed. She merely kept that grin on her face and dropped her hands to her sides. Roger realized that he had to make an actual command of her, and looked around his room. Not thinking straight in his excitement he began to mutter to himself about how he'd love it if she could do a little cleaning and pressing of his clothes. Maybe he could also get her to somehow acquire new lounging clothes, monogrammed of course, a chaise lounge to match, a wet bar, a nice stereo playing soft music, new soft-leather shoes, silk slacks, shirts and undergarments, and whatever else she needed to keep all that clean and pressed, too. Roger quickly learned just what a "bottled harem" meant to someone like Hadji at the gleeful realization she had acted upon his mutterings.

The girl turned to Roger's right and lightly blinked her eyes with that shaking-bells sound issuing forth. As he muttered that list of items, he noticed her blink. The sight of her magically pressing his existing clothes and creating all of the other things he had wished for halted Roger's ramblings and he cried out, "You're a djinni! Oh Hadji, you old dog, you!"

"No Master, I am not a djinni. The Great One imparted the bottle with magic. I am a part of that magic and can provide you with all that pleases you within the confines of your abode. Only your new clothing is permanent; everything else will vanish when I do, Master."

"Oh! Well, I can still think of plenty of uses for that kind of magic. Maybe we should wait until later. Jeannie and Tony should be here soon, if Hadji's right about that."

"I am sure the Great One does not make mistakes about the predicted timeliness of others, Master. He is most wise and to be given the utmost respect."

"True, true. Okay, then forget about everything else. Just get back in your bottle and I'll continue this later."

"You must summon me back into it, Master."

"Oh, right, right," Roger replied, having forgotten about that part, what with the discovery that he had a _magical_ harem at his beck and call. He was going to have _so_ much fun he could hardly wait to get them all home to the rest of the harem! He reluctantly rubbed the bottle and the girl blinked herself into her green and blue smoke, leaving behind the new set of lounge-wear but smoking the chaise-lounge with her and into the bottle. He hoped she at least made use of the lounge inside of her bottle, if it worked that way. He tried to peer in, but it was too dark. Oh well, he thought, corking and stashing the magic bottle into his suitcase. He checked his hair, gave it one sweep of his comb and left his room. He had just stepped inside and closed the door to Tony and Jeannie's room when his two best friends appeared before him. He saw that Jeannie was back in her normal djinni-styled harem clothes, her arms draped around the shoulders of her Master and husband. The outfit happened to be the green set she sometimes wore for special occasions, too. Both looked very happy and very relaxed, making Roger wonder what that Genie or maybe Hadji had done to them.

~*~


	9. Chapter 9

Here's the last chapter, so I hope y'all enjoy it. Thanks for the reviews, too!

Chapter Nine

Jeannie and Tony had wasted no 'time' while they had it, even relaxing enough to sleep a normal night's rest in that paused dimension. Tony's body and mind had been kept magically awake by Genie for too many hours, even if she had used her superior powers to negate the normal effects of sleep deprivation. Jeannie certainly knew how to do that, yet hardly ever used it. Going without sleep tended to be a specialized power for emergency situations and almost exclusively for her purposes. She was able to remove that magic from her Anthony, thus their need for that long sleep. That is, at least part of the need for it, she thought with an inner grin.

Once they had taken enough time for their bit of play and more, Jeannie told her love that they had been speaking in ancient Persian the whole time. Although he wasn't surprised by that revelation, remembering when Genie had touched his forehead to give him her language, he did have Jeannie change it back to English-only. Jeannie happily complied and then blinked them back to the hotel. They appeared just as Roger was walking into the room, her timing impeccable. She knew he had been instrumental in releasing her and Anthony from Genie's power. Even if Anthony objected, she knew that the hug and peck on the cheek she jumped up to give him would not do for more than the time being. She had to come up with something else for him once things had settled back to normal.

"Oh, Major Healey!" Jeannie squealed and launched herself onto Roger, hugging him tightly, giving him that peck on the cheek before letting go to stand back a pace or two. Tony took and shook Roger's hand and gave him a rare if brief hug, too.

"Hey, Rog! You really came through for us this time. I can't thank you enough," he said, grinning to his best friend. A glance at Jeannie, standing there practically bouncing on her toes and looking just like the powerful djinni she was in her green harem set (worn for special occasions, naturally.) It all reminded him of one way to thank his friend. He normally wouldn't have even considered it, save for the few times in the past, such as for Roger's birthday, or when Roger and Jeannie had needled him into it. But, his help this time around had been so very different from all those other times and no matter what kind of trouble Roger got into, it'd be worth it ten times over.

"Jeannie? I think we can repay Roger with a wish or two. How about the traditional three wishes?" He said with a grin and a wink, taking Jeannie with his arm to hold her around the waist. Jeannie happily wrapped both arms around her adorable Master, nodding her head vigorously.

"I think that is a wonderful idea, Master!" she said, and turned to face Roger. "What would you like first, Major Healey?"

Roger stunned both of them when he hesitated in replying. Way too much was going through his head due to all the magic that he had been offered. Normally reacting to a wish offered didn't take that much effort. Still, who looked a gift horse in the mouth, especially one that could grant wishes? His mind went into overdrive, as all those past wishes he had wanted and never received came flooding back, along with the possibilities available from three wishes. He had to keep his wits about him, though, or lose that bottled harem! There was no way he'd let that little secret be known any time soon. He took the time from his hesitation to form his words carefully for his friend's djinni.

"Well, there's so much I'd love to have. You know what I'm like," he said, bashfully.

"Yeah, we do," Tony replied, perhaps with a bit too much sarcasm in his tone of voice. Jeannie picked up on it and frowned to Tony. She let go of him to touch Roger's arm.

"There is no need to rush this, Major Healey. When you are ready to make your wish, just call on me and I will answer. I am giving you that connection to me until the last wish is granted." Jeannie smiled to her friend, knowing that would help him in his decisions. Humans did sometimes need more time; impulse wishing almost always got them into trouble. As a djinni, she had the power to reverse the effects of a rushed wish or one that had not been thought out properly. She would only do that, though, if the wisher took their wish back. Otherwise, she was forbidden from doing that on her own. Her friend could be dense at times, but things usually worked out, if only with a little magical help.

Roger took a deep breath and sighed, nodding to Jeannie. "Thanks. I think you're right. I better wait and think these through. It's been a long day. We probably should get our rest before we go back out tomorrow. Did you get rid of that palace yet?" Not that Roger really cared. He was hoping to get more free clothing from his bottled haremgirls so he could go out on the town again. It may have been really late at night, but there had to be some all-night clubs or belly dance venues around. Jeannie could show him again, even if it took a wish to accomplish it. He'd have to ask for super-strength so he could take care of those bullies next time.

"That palace! Jeannie, did you blink it out when you blinked us back here?" Tony asked, the panic rising in his voice.

"No, I thought I could go back—"

"Jeannie, blink it out! Blink it out now! We have to get rid of it before anyone else discovers it," he practically yelled, panicked almost beyond words. That is, in the habitual manner used whenever his djinni performed something magical on the world. It always worried him for being caught in something unexplainable.

"Yes, Master, at once!" Jeannie said and folded her arms up for the blink to make that abomination disappear. Only, her powers told her that there were still occupants in the palace, and they were not blinked-up servants. Six girls remained, none created by magic. Her magic senses told her that they had, in fact been male at one time. Jeannie did not blink, much to the surprise of her rather panicked Anthony.

"Master? There are six haremgirls—" she started, promptly cut off by an interruption.

"Just make them disappear, too, Jeannie. I've seen you do that often enough."

"If you will let me finish, _Master_, I was about to inform you that they were not always women. I sense that they were men at one time. Did you see that witch of a djinni turn anyone into haremgirls?" Jeannie asked, watching her Master for any hint of a memory. That other djinni's magic was the most powerful she had ever seen, other than Hadji's, so she understood that there could have been a permanent change to his memories. That thought alone just made her despise that blonde witch all the more. If only she had the power, she would have happily done more than grab her hair and put her back in the lamp. The ideas for her kind of revenge ran almost endlessly through her thoughts then and would do so many weeks after.

Tony thought about that, trying to remember anything, but the suppression of his memories was greater than any magic he had ever experienced. He shook his head in reply.

"I'm sorry, Jeannie, nothing's coming to me. I think she did more than just make me forget you," he gulped, knowing how that would upset her, and not wanting to reveal that information.

Jeannie was not happy to hear that, either, and not just for the added dimension it gave her hate for that djinni-witch. It also meant that she was not going to be able to help him get those memories back without major assistance from the likes of Hadji or even the Blue Djinn. She would only go to the djinn she feared the most as a last resort and only with Hadji and every other powerful member of the Djinn in attendance.

"Then I shall take care of them myself," she said and blinked once to freeze all the haremgirls. She used that time to enter their minds and memories. They would remember nothing of the previous evening after she blinked a second time and suppressed their memories of the last 24 hours. She did not believe in erasing memories, no matter who it was. In time, through dreams and other means, the memories would come back. For most of them, they would not know what had happened until they had crossed to the other side of the veil. The latter was a subject she knew she would have to bring up with her Anthony, even if she did not really want to. Perhaps she would for one of those times when they were being introspective with one another. Yes, she would approach him on that touchy subject then.

Jeannie focused back on the haremgirls, checking their minds to make sure everything had gone smoothly and blinked a third time. The six of them vanished and then reappeared in their respective homes, in bed and fast asleep. She made sure their dreams would take care of any fears they had experienced in their ordeal as well keeping those memories suppressed until fate picked the proper moment to reveal them. The few that had wives would adjust to the problem of their reappearance and of having no memory of the previous evening. However, Jeannie did not wish for them to get into trouble with those three wives, so another blink made those women infinitely forgiving of their husbands' absences of that evening.

Jeannie held her arms crossed, sending her magic through the palace and the general area around it, allowing her to sense most of the magic that had taken place and in what manner. That was when she noticed the camels along with the one the cameraman had ridden back to the city. She looked up to her Anthony and asked about them. Roger piped up first.

"That djinni got herself filmed. Or her magic got filmed. I saw it on the TV earlier. There had been a military cameraman filming the palace and all the activities. Then it panned up to the sky a little then back down at just the right time to let everyone know she had turned everyone but him into camels. They aired all of that! The city was in a panic before I got hold of Hadji. It probably still is, but I had to get Jeannie to quiet the room so I could think. She did a little more than that, though," he said and gave her a slight smile. Jeannie giggled in return since she did remember everything that had happened to her and what she had done for Major Healey. Tony didn't know what Roger meant and figured he'd learn more about it all in the coming days. The three of them still had the rest of the week and would have to discuss it. He _was_ curious about what Roger had seen and experienced, especially about how he helped get them out of it all. Jeannie had only mentioned the Minaret of Lamps, but didn't go into much detail. They had hardly been in the mood for that kind of thing at the time anyway...

"Okay, then change those people back, too, Jeannie. Do whatever it was you did with all those blinks for the others. Just so long as we can fix things. It's really a disaster this time!"

"I will do that now, Master," Jeannie replied and performed the very same steps for the camels as she had for the former haremgirls. However, when the camels had vanished back to their respective beds several humans also witnessed some of them disappear. Jeannie did not mention that part since it would only have upset her adorable Anthony more than she wanted. Dropping her arms to clasp her hands before her, she smiled at her accomplishment.

"All done, Master," she said and then remembered the palace was still there. "Oh! The palace!" She quickly folded her arms up to nod and blink it away, the desert restored exactly to what it had been. Her blink had also made all of the abandoned military equipment disappear, though she did not teleport it back to where it had come from. They would make more, she thought, especially with no one remembering what had happened before it all disappeared and left it at that. She grinned and hugged her darling Anthony again, just happy to have him back. Tony hugged her back, happy, too, but still not quite satisfied.

"Okay, is that everything? Everything's back to normal? Or at least the physical stuff, right?"

"Yes, Master. But what should we do about the film?"

"I have an idea about that," Tony said and proceeded to detail out a plan he had devised as Jeannie was taking care of the transformations. He had been through enough disasters of her and her relatives' making, to think fast in developing good solutions or cover stories. This time was no different, even if the circumstances included large numbers of people, maybe even everyone on the planet, if what Roger had said about its previous airing was true. He didn't doubt that part, only the possibility that it had gotten to the world press. One step at a time with the help of Jeannie's magic and his explanations and everything would be right in the world. That is, it would be as best as possible, even with the help of a powerful djinni.

"Okay, first we need to ruin that film. Not completely, just make it look like bad special effects. You should know what to do about that, right Jeannie?" At the mention of special effects that were hardly ever very good, Jeannie giggled. She knew all too well what her Master meant. She had even used some of her magic to 'improve' many of those old movies and TV shows after her Master had gone to bed. It made her laugh sometimes at how poorly humans depicted magic effects and other times she could hardly hold herself back in correcting them to authenticity. If her Anthony had ever noticed her magical corrections, he had never mentioned it. It was something she continued to do when she saw the blatantly bad effects. She got a small thrill inside as she was about to mimic the worst effects she had ever seen, all to cover up real magic.

"Yes, Master, I do," she giggled and folded her arms up. She sensed more than one copy of the film in existence and several processing plants making more copies. She would take care of them all as she nodded her blinked magic out into the ethers. Her transformative magic took hold of those copies, both complete and in processing as well as the original to blur the opulence of the palace and dim the other decorations. In close-up shots, sparkling gems took on the appearance of glass fakes, shining precious metals dulled to merely painted gold and platinum and precise stonework seemed like a mix of cardboard and plywood. The look of the full palace scene became nothing more than a model, crudely matted onto an obvious miniature set, then pasted onto the real desert scene.

The transformation of the soldiers into camels she left mostly intact, since humans understood how to create a decent instant change in their effects, no matter how amateurish they were. She shook the 'camera' slightly during the change, making it look only like a mediocre edit cut. That was it for the problem of the existing films. The next task fell on Tony's shoulders and he had to relate the rest of his plan to Roger.

They discussed their plans for another hour or so, until Jeannie noticed the sky turning light. Roger had been up all night with their ordeal since she and her Master had slept earlier; it was going to be a long day if she did not at least help him past the fatigue. Tony allowed it and Roger was soon blinked to have as much energy and clarity of mind as if he had just awakened from a full night's rest. They spent another hour going over everything they needed to accomplish in detail, in spite of Roger's complaints to just get it done and over with. Tony tried to point out that they probably wouldn't see any reporters right away, but there could be lingering military personnel in the area, monitoring the situation. That made sense to Roger, and he asked to be excused to get dressed. He didn't get that far as a blink from Jeannie changed their clothes to the khaki military uniforms they had worn the previous day, magically cleaned and pressed. Roger looked a little disappointed, as if he had an ulterior motive, making Jeannie wonder about that. She shrugged it off, knowing she would get it out of him later.

Jeannie had related to Tony how she had made their Jeep and all of their equipment vanish when she had blinked out the palace, so he knew that it would easy enough for her to bring it back. Jeannie blinked them out around 7 am, taking them to the perfect hidden spot; that being behind a large sand dune not far from the site. Their Jeep and all of their surveying equipment sat in front of them.

"Okay, Jeannie, we can take it from here," Tony said, and kissed her. She kissed him back and waved to Roger before blinking out. However, true to her spirit, she did not vanish from their presence. Rather, she reappeared in miniature in a bag of survey equipment. She had changed her harem clothes back to her regular red and pink set so as not to mess up her special outfit. She had appeared at the top of one pocket on the canvas bag, small enough to go unnoticed by her Master or Major Healey. She hung on as the Jeep took off and the two astronauts rounded a bend to get back on the road leading to the site. They had to stop almost immediately as there was one media crew at the entrance to the future tracking site, and looking rather stunned at the absence of a massive palace. They were equally stunned by the arrival of Tony and Roger, though they recovered quickly enough, switching back into reporter and film crew mode. There was a bit of a language problem at first, until a blink from Jeannie gave both her Master and Major Healey the ability to speak in Farsi. Of course, that blew her cover, yet her Master did look pleased at her assistance. One more example of how magic could make things better, she thought. She did not think of the fact that his interview would probably make it to American shores and get him in trouble with Dr. Bellows all over again.

"Major Nelson, your Farsi is excellent! I would like to know where you learned it so well," the tall reporter asked. He had a mustache as bushy as his head of dark hair, dressed in a suit in that developing heat, as if he hardly noticed such temperatures. Tony gave an impromptu explanation on that, inferring that he had good friends in the area and had learned it from them over the years. He knew he'd have to come up with some other explanation for Dr. Bellows if his interview ever made it home. Or get Jeannie to change it before that happened.

The questions soon turned to the former existence of Genie's palace and why two American astronauts were going to that site. That in turn led to a mini-press conference of their intent to survey the site for a tracking station in cooperation with the Iranian government. The palace controversy had turned out to be an Iranian film crew making some Arabian fantasy movie when they had shown up the previous day. Then some of the film crew released that part of the movie as a prank. The reporter tried desperately to get any admission out of Tony that the film quality looked too good to be merely special effects, but Tony didn't budge on that issue.

"Just look at the film again. I think you may have been reading more into it than you thought. Now, if you don't mind, gentlemen, my partner and I have work to complete. The desert gets mighty hot in your country!" he laughed and got a chuckle out of them all. The reporter drew back, thanked Tony and Roger for their answers then packed up and left. As soon as they were out of sight, Jeannie reappeared with a giggle.

"Okay, Jeannie, thanks, but I don't need to talk in Persian anymore, okay?"

"I wouldn't mind keeping it," Roger interjected only to get a glare from Tony.

"Sorry, Rog, you can't keep that. What would Dr. Bellows think if he heard you speaking in Persian? It's bad enough that Jeannie will have to do something about that to begin with. I don't want Dr. Bellows hearing me talk in Farsi," he said and turned to Jeannie. "I want you to monitor the news at home, if you can, Jeannie. If it looks like that interview is going to get aired anywhere, I want you to change it to English and get rid of the bit about his liking my Farsi."

"Yes, Master," she said and blinked at the two astronauts, removing their ability to speak flawless Farsi. "There! Now, what would you like me to do next, Anthony?"

"Now you can go back to the hotel and wait until we get done out here. We lost a lot of time with that fiasco from yesterday and we'll have to work harder to make up for it." Roger groaned at the mention of that part, wiping a hand down his face. He never would understand why, in a private place like the middle of a desert, Tony still wouldn't accept a little magical help; Jeannie felt the same way.

"But it would be nothing for me to help you carry your things, Master," she said. Jeannie folded her arms up quickly and blinked before her Master could push them down like he did all too often. She produced two small flying carpets, laden with all of their equipment, divided according to whom was doing what task. She dropped her arms to beam brightly at her Master for her idea.

"No, Jeannie, we can do it on our own. Now please, get rid of the carpets and go back to the hotel. I'll call you when we're done, Okay?" he said and leaned down to at least kiss her. Though she returned it, she didn't feel as loved as before. Was he always going to be so serious about his work for the rest of their lives? She certainly hoped not. She would have to work on him to soften that attitude and way of thinking or it would be the death of him and their marriage. She quelled those thoughts quickly and eyed him with that look she had for mild disapproval, turning to say her good-byes to Roger. Jeannie blinked out, lingering in the ethers to observe one last time. She managed a little blink that restored her Master's and Major Healey's magical canteens to their equipment. She left then, happy to have helped them both that little bit. She returned to the hotel and did her best to keep from being bored. If that meant more shopping and playing with her powers, then that was what she would do. Jeannie blinked out and returned to the local bazaars for another exciting day of Persian shopping.

Roger and Tony got busy, walking out into the developing heat of the day and discovering Jeannie's return of the magical canteens. Both were silently thankful for that and trudged on. They made up for the time they had lost easily enough, though that took them out to the furthest point from the Jeep in their basic survey of the land. They were only making preliminary sightings at that time, staking the major points with metal rods for the ease of finding later. Once NASA and the Iranian government had looked over their data, only then would they send a full survey crew and stake out the site properly. Construction would commence soon after and NASA would have another excellent source for keeping track and in touch with their astronauts on future missions.

Roger was the rodman, marking and staking the points of the site and taking the leveling rod for Tony to sight with the theodolite. Roger was on his way back from the furthest point out and on to the next one when he noticed a glint in the sand off course to his left. Tony had flipped the transit lens over and was making the back-sight as Roger angled his trek just enough to get to that glint. Checking to make sure Tony was still looking in the opposite direction Roger tossed his measuring rod aside as he dropped to his knees and started to dig whatever it was out of the fine sand. Oh, the luck he'd have if it were another djinni! Only his wouldn't be some evil witch of a djinni. He'd be the luckiest astronaut in the world and would be the Master of the loveliest and sexiest djinni he could wish for, even with three wishes and a bottled harem waiting for him later. Having his very own djinni would simply be the icing on the cake of an eventful day and night.

What Roger found was not another lamp or even a bottle. It looked like a long tarnished brass bracelet, wide enough to cover the whole wrist and then some. A single bright green gem about a half-inch across was set into the metal, close to the end that might cover the wrist and back of the hand. There was a hole in the side for the thumb on the gem end and looked like it was fitted for the left hand. A curved 'tongue' of the bracer spread out under that thumb hole, as if to cover part of the palm once slipped over the hand and wrist.

It mattered little to Roger where or how that piece of jewelry would be worn, though. All he saw at that point were dollar signs according to whatever he could get for it back home. Maybe there were more just like it, he thought and dug in the hot sand all around the spot where he had discovered that bracer. Nothing came up other than the squawk of his walkie-talkie as Tony asked him what he was doing.

"Nothing, Tone. Just dropped my canteen," he lied and stuffed the brass bracer into his shoulder satchel. He began to dream of the extra riches that would be awaiting him once they were all home again. Roger scrambled back onto the right track, mostly to keep Tony from complaining any more about them getting behind schedule.

What Roger had neglected to do, or had not really had the time to notice, was the faint green glow that had begun to form the moment he had handled it. That kind of magical light went unnoticed due to the bright sun and no one could have faulted Roger for failing to see such a thing. Had he taken a little more time to gaze at that bright gem, it would have been difficult to ignore the slow swirl of black and green smoke that began to form from somewhere deep within.

~*~

The End


End file.
